


Finding Their Feet

by BlackHunter666



Category: REILLY Matthew - Works, Scarecrow Series - Matthew Reilly
Genre: Abuse, Budding relationships, Growing Romance, M/M, New chances, Protection even in Hell, Rape/Non-con Elements, Smut, Starting Over, Torture, Tough Days, making it work, picking up strays, picking up the pieces
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:05:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7076233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackHunter666/pseuds/BlackHunter666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We've seen Black Knight and Rufus kicking ass in their own way, flying high and blowing up anything and everything to get the job done. But back in the early days of their lives on the wrong side of the law, things weren't always so smooth for them. They had a lot of mistakes, professionally and personally and stumbled over supposedly simple things before finally getting it sorted out between them. Each new chapter will contain a different moment when things started clicking between them until they finally got their acts together and made their mark as Bounty Hunters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Starting Over

Keeping his distance and watching Aloysius still trying to deal with the loss of his wife and baby, Rufus sighed softly and stepped out onto the balcony. He hated it when Aloysius stayed out here for too long, facing the real risk of a sniper in one of the other apartment buildings taking a shot at him while he was just trying to relax.  
'Come inside Boss.' he sighed, stepping closer and reaching out. 'We'll have a beer and relax.'  
'We've been over this Rufus. I'm not going to bed with you.' Aloysius sighed, not moving from the railing. 'Get that through your thick head.'  
'You said that, not me Aloysius. I'm suggesting beer and a football game on TV.' Rufus corrected, shaking his head slowly. 'Just come inside.'  
'It's never that simple with you, Rufus. Starts with an offer of a beer and before I know it, you're back to trying to talk me into your bed.' Aloysius growled, looking over his shoulder.  
'Do I repulse you that much?' Rufus asked, brutally honest as only he could be. 'Honestly, do I disgust you that much?'  
'What? No!' Aloysius protested, turning to face him at last.  
'Then what is it? I haven't mentioned anything sexual for months and yet, every time I try to make sure you're safe, you jump straight back to sex.' Rufus sighed, trying not to show how much it hurt to be constantly knocked back even when he wasn't asking.  
'It's got nothing to do with you. For fuck's sake, I just lost my wife and little girl. Give me some time to grieve.' Aloysius replied, turning his attention back to the view around them.  
'I would, if I didn't have to worry about a sniper taking your head off. I'm just trying to keep you safe.' Rufus countered, turning away. 'I'll be inside when you've finished wallowing in your self pity, Aloysius.'

Leaving the door open, Rufus grabbed a beer and dropped down on the couch, flicking through channels idly before settling on a car race. He didn't much care for racing but the scenery behind the race was nice. Maybe one day he'd get a chance to see Adelaide for real and admire the scenery up close. He added it to his long mental list of places he wanted to see before he died.  
'What do you want from me?' Aloysius asked, finally coming inside and locking the door behind him. 'Tell me straight, what do you want?'  
'I want you to stop pushing me away.' Rufus replied, sipping his beer and staring at the TV. 'I want you to relax and realise that I'm only trying to help.'  
'You're not making any sense. How does any of this help?' Aloysius sighed, plopping down in his favourite armchair.  
'Remember that first night after you found out about Mel and Christine? You came to me in the middle of the night, tears in your eyes and desperate for a reminder that someone still cared about you.' Rufus guided, setting his bottle down.  
'I remember. You didn't even ask what was wrong; you just lifted the blankets and patted the open space beside you. I was so thankful to be reminded that I wasn't alone, I fell into bed and let you hold me all night.' Aloysius nodded, staring down at his new Brandeis tattoo.  
'You wouldn't let go of my wrist all night, no matter what I tried you refused to let go. I don't think you realise how much it hurt when you broke away in the morning, as if you were ashamed that you'd needed to be held.' Rufus continued, still watching the race but he wasn't really paying attention to it. 'You couldn't get out of there fast enough.'  
'Okay, yes, I was ashamed but not about you. I was ashamed of my own weakness. I'm supposed to be this big, tough Delta operator, not some cry baby who can't stay in his own damn bed. I hated myself for not being able to handle my grief alone. It wasn't your burden to bear.' Aloysius admitted, subconsciously wrapping one arm around his abdomen for protection. 'I'm supposed to be better than that.'  
'It became my burden to bear when we teamed up. We're never going to survive on this side of the law if we can't depend on each other. Come on, you've seen me at my worst so what's wrong with a little turn around? I know it's not the same kind of hurt, but I ain't got a family to lose so it's all I got to offer.' Rufus shrugged, shifting on the couch and calmly offering out his hand again. 'You've got nothing to be ashamed about. Humans ain't meant to live solitary lives.'

Sighing softly, Aloysius looked away as he reached out to clasp Rufus' hand in his own. They still had a long road ahead but with perseverance and open communication, they would eventually figure out how to make this relationship work on a professional level as well as a personal level.  
'I've been such an ass to you, I know that. I'm just…I'm still trying to get used to the idea that I'll never see my ladies again. I miss them so much; it hurts so much so know they're dead because we survived that ambush. I was prepared to die in the service of my country, I was ready for that and made arrangements for my ladies but I never dreamed the opposite might happen.' Aloysius groaned, hanging his head sadly. 'I never thought that my survival would cost the lives of two such beautiful women.'  
'Talk to me, Aloysius. Tell me all about them. You don't have to handle the pain alone, I'm here. It's just us now; you don't have to be strong.' Rufus coaxed, squeezing Aloysius' hand lightly. 'It's okay; I'm only trying to help.'

Nodding slowly, Aloysius stood and came around to sit beside Rufus. Trying to relax, he sagged into Rufus' side and swallowed quickly as one strong arm curled around his shoulder, tucking him close and keeping him safe. Closing his eyes, he got comfortable and started talking, letting the memories wash over him as he wept openly for his darling wife and precious little girl. Rufus stayed quiet, running his hand over Aloysius' arm and holding him securely as Aloysius continued to sob against him. They barely moved until Aloysius ended up crying himself to sleep again, refusing to let go of Rufus' shirt as he sagged.

Unbuttoning his shirt and wriggling out of it, Rufus stood and carefully gathered Aloysius into his arms. Keeping up a soft litany of soothing words, he carried Aloysius through to his room and settled him safely in his bed. Tugging his shoes off and setting them out of the way, he carefully slipped Aloysius' glasses off and put them safely on the bedside table.  
'Sleep well, Aloysius. I've got the watch.' he uttered, smoothing the blankets over Aloysius and leaving him to sleep.

Turning off the TV and making sure the apartment was secure, he turned off the lights and returned to Aloysius' room. It was a risk but Rufus had a good feeling that Aloysius wouldn't lash out at him this time. Kicking off his boots, he settled beside Aloysius and reached out to loosely curl one hand over Aloysius' shoulders as a constant reminder he wasn't alone. Shutting off the bedside lamp, he soon drifted off to sleep and hoped that tonight would be a peaceful one.


	2. Contact

Not totally sure what had woken him, Rufus scrubbed one hand over his face as he listened to the world around him and tried to put his mind in gear. Glancing towards the clock on the table, he groaned as he realised it was just after four in the morning. Settling back down, he attempted to go back to sleep, only to feel the mattress shudder. Reaching out, he curled one hand over Aloysius' bicep and lightly stroked the weathered skin with his thumb.  
'Hey, what's wrong?' he uttered, wriggling closer to Aloysius' back. 'Talk to me, Aloysius.'  
'I didn't mean to wake you.' Aloysius sighed, resting one hand over Rufus' lightly.  
'Can't help you if I'm sleeping.' Rufus corrected, pressing up against Aloysius' back. 'What's wrong?'  
'I want to…but I can't.' Aloysius groaned, trembling in Rufus' warm embrace. 'I…it's already been a month…thought I'd try…just aches more now.'  
'Can't get off? It's only been a few weeks, it's no surprise you're having trouble.' Rufus nodded, gliding his fingers down Aloysius' arm slowly. 'Want some help?'  
'I don't know.' Aloysius breathed, going completely still against Rufus. 'I don't know anymore.'  
'Shhh, just relax. Close your eyes, I don't really care what you start fantasising about, just relax and let me help.' Rufus soothed, more alert now and focused on what had to be done. 'I've got you, you're safe here.'

Keeping his touch light, Rufus stroked his way over Aloysius' firm abdomen and down, listening to every desperate sound slipping past his lips as he tried to relax. Dipping lower, briefly thankful that Aloysius had already pushed his pants down, he brushed one fingertip over the semi-hard length he felt and tried not to think about the pained groan Aloysius let out.  
'You're in charge here. I stop when you say.' he guided, curling his hand around Aloysius' cock.  
'Got it.' Aloysius nodded, clutching at the hand secure against his chest.  
'Relax.' Rufus repeated, getting comfortable and starting to stroke slowly.

Tightening his grip on Rufus' hand against his chest, Aloysius couldn't help the wide range of noises that ripped out of him. He went from barely roused to rock hard in seconds, groaning as the pleasure bolted through him with every confident touch. Memories clouded his mind, flipping between sweet times with his wife and crazier times with Rufus. Crying out as the pleasure intensified, he somehow ended up on his back and bucked up against the hand still gliding over him. It felt so incredibly good to be touched like this, all the pain slowly lifting away as he shuffled closer to Rufus' warmth.

He'd never really been loud in bed, preferring to keep it quiet and enjoy the intimacy with his wife but here, he couldn't do it anymore. Something about this situation was bringing out a volume he'd never known before. He liked it though, relishing this chance to get loud and unwind completely.  
'Oh shit…' he gasped, clawing at the bedding. 'Gonna…'  
'Let go, Aloysius.' Rufus whispered, speeding his hand a little more.

Bucking and twisting, Aloysius' breath caught in his throat as he was swept away by his release, leaving him shaking and sweaty against Rufus' chest. Sagging back onto the mattress, he panted heavily as he came down from his high, absolutely exhausted and content. A little voice in the back of his head told him he was a fag and filthy for daring to let a man touch him like that; Aloysius just calmly told that little voice to shut the fuck up and slowly opened his eyes.  
'Feel better now?' Rufus asked, slipping off his shirt and using it to wipe away the mess.  
'Yeah…thanks.' Aloysius gasped, licking dry lips quickly. 'I needed that. What about you?'  
'Don't worry about it.' Rufus grinned, tossing his shirt down beside the bed. 'I'm not the one with a bad case of blue balls.'  
'But still…'  
'But nothin', Aloysius. You're still hurtin', I'm not gonna push you.' Rufus sighed, settling back down and pulling the blankets up. 'Go back to sleep.'  
'I can't just let it go.' Aloysius protested, rolling over so he could look at Rufus. 'I just…'  
'You're not ready, Aloysius. I can see it in your eyes. You're terrified that I'll ask you to do something that you're not ready for. Just get some sleep; it's way too early to deal with your stubborn need to prove something.' Rufus sighed, draping one arm over Aloysius' side.

Deciding that it really wasn't worth arguing over, Aloysius nodded and snuggled back down with a soft sigh. He really was tired; he'd honestly forgotten how exhausted he always got after orgasm. Yawning wide, he tucked in against Rufus' warmth and relaxed, listening to the soft snores coming from Rufus until he too slipped peacefully back into sweet dreams.


	3. Danger Close

Trying to swallow the anxiety gnawing at him, Rufus glanced towards the historic building where Aloysius had disappeared on the tail of their latest target. It was meant to be an easy job; apprehend a local drug lord and deliver him to the headquarters of the latest taskforce trying to eliminate drugs from the area. After all their military experiences, it should have been a simple job. It wasn't turning out that way though.

Aloysius had been in there for over an hour now, he'd estimated that the snatch mission would take 40 minutes so something had to have gone seriously wrong inside for him to have spent another thirty minutes inside the building. The waiting was driving Rufus crazy, he'd already tried their primary and secondary radio channels with no response and Aloysius wasn't answering his phone either. In sheer desperation, Rufus tried their emergency channel but even that was silent.

Running through the mission details again as he looked up at the first floor balcony that marked the target apartment, he considered his options carefully before deciding what to do. Crossing the street quickly, he reached up and grabbed the target balcony. Kicking off hard, he swung his body up over the railing and landed lightly on the other side. Reaching under his casual t-shirt, he pulled his trusty old .45 Colt and flicked the safety off.

Weapon held ready, he turned his attention to the doors in front of him and winced at what he found. These doors opened out, all his room breaching training had focused on doors that opened into a room. Thinking fast, he considered his options and listened intently for any signs of life from inside. He could make out six voices speaking Spanish; his own Spanish was terrible so he couldn't work out what they were talking about. He did recognise the word Americano though and took that to be a sign that Aloysius was still in there somewhere.

Hearing something else, he paused and listened again, trying to ignore the cold chill running up his spine at the ugly sound of flesh hitting flesh before he heard a grunt he recognised. Tensing in readiness, he caught a few words in heavily accented English and felt his blood run cold at the implications of what had just been said. If that sick fuck thought he could do that and get away with it, well he was about to get a very rude awakening.

Springing forward, he smashed right through the big glass doors and the layers of paper covering them, rolling smoothly through the glass and snapping up his pistol as he came up onto one knee. Taking aim, he opened fire and dropped one with a neat headshot before anyone else could move. For a moment he saw Aloysius in the next room; bound to a chair and covered in blood but right now, he had to be a secondary objective.

Diving for cover behind a rat eaten old couch, he kept his head down as the bullets rained down on him. He was severely outgunned, his old Colt no match for their AK-47s but he had to try. Peeking around the end of the couch, he let off two shots and ducked back as another dropped with two bloody holes in his chest.

Heaving to his feet, he opened fire on the two guarding the door leading to Aloysius. One died with two in the back but the other managed to slip around the corner and out of sight. Rufus couldn't spare the time to chase him though; he had to deal with the two remaining assholes in this room. Backing up a step, he reached for the only other weapon he carried and hoped that his long hours practising with it paid off this time. 

In one smooth motion, he drew the old Bowie knife, cocked his arm back and let fly, sending it hurtling across the room and into the throat of asshole number four. This however gave number five an advantage, allowing him to sneak up and grab Rufus from behind as he tried to get his own deadly blade into the taller mans' throat.

Grabbing his attacker by the wrists, Rufus dropped into a forward roll, crushing the heavyset, tattooed bastard into the floor. Breaking free, he rolled and grabbed the dropped knife, driving it straight into his heart to put an end to him. Getting up, he picked up his fallen pistol and his precious Bowie and turned his attention to the second room.

Now he had an even bigger problem though. Asshole number seven, most likely the one who spoke passable English, was in the process of pulling a rather large needle from Knight's right arm. Not a full one though, this syringe was totally empty. Considering the drug paraphernalia all around them, along with great stacks of white bricks, Rufus could only assume that this bastard had just pumped Aloysius full of whatever garbage they were making here.

Restraining his anger, he raised his hands and waited for the cowardly one to get within range to take his Colt from him. Once the little fuck was in range, Rufus snapped his arms down and grabbed him, muscles rippling as he snapped that scrawny neck with one sharp twist of his hands.  
'Orders are that we're allowed to hurt ya, so long as ya can still talk.' Rufus drawled, taking aim on the bastard. 'Now considerin' what ya just did to my buddy, I'm wondering if takin' ya manhood would stop ya talkin'.'  
'Arrogant American. This is my home, you have no power here.'  
'Heh, that's what you think.' Rufus returned, stepping further into the room. 'If that's why ya think, then be a man and prove it.'  
'With pleasure.' he growled, coming out from behind Aloysius and advancing with a deadly gleam in his eye. 'I look forward to seeing how your friend reacts.'  
'Not gonna happen.' Rufus snarled, straightening to his full height slowly.

Once he was satisfied that Aloysius was relatively safe for the moment, he released the power coiled in his frame and tackled the prick standing between them and their first decent payday in a few months. Driving him back and down, they skidded across the floor until he crashed into the table behind them, sending it crashing to the floor along with buckets of unpackaged powder and several sets of flex cuffs. Amusingly, a heavy set of scales also fell, clobbering the guy in the head and knocking him out cold. Reacting fast, Rufus grabbed for the bandana around his neck and pulled it up, praying that it was enough to protect him from the powder in the air as he flipped their target over and secured his wrists with the flex cuffs. Snatching up another set, he slipped them around his ankles and pulled tight, preventing any hope of a dignified or quick escape whenever he regained consciousness.

Confident that their target was secure, he turned his attention to Aloysius as he grabbed a knife that had been stuck in the wall. Cutting through the ropes holding him to the chair, Rufus sighed softly as he curled his hand under Aloysius' chin and lifted slowly. Whatever that bastard had injected into Knight, it acted fast and hit hard. Even without being able to look into Aloysius' eyes, the stupid look on his face was a sure sign that he was high as a kite. Add that to the bloody wounds and bruises all over his upper body and face, it was abundantly clear that this had all been one big clusterfuck.  
'Don't feel so great.' Aloysius mumbled, sagging forward suddenly.  
'I gotcha.' Rufus soothed, wrapping one arm securely around his back. 'Easy now.'  
'Wanna go home.' Aloysius continued, totally limp in Rufus' arms.  
'Soon bud, real soon. I need you to sit here for just a minute, okay.' Rufus coaxed, guiding him to lean back in the chair. 'Just stay right there.'  
'm'kay.' Aloysius nodded, practically boneless as he sprawled back in the chair.

Swearing mentally, Rufus turned back to the drug lord and flipped him over before hoisting the unconscious man onto his left shoulder securely. Turning back to Aloysius, he briefly considered how he was ever going to get them both downstairs safely. There was no way in hell Aloysius was sober enough to walk; the poor guy could barely even string four words together. Sinking to one knee in front of Aloysius, he reached out with his right hand and steadied him before he oozed right off the damn chair.  
'Lean forward, I've gotcha. Nice and slow now.' he guided, gingerly nudging him in the right direction. 'That's it, doing real great.'  
'We going f' ride?' Aloysius slurred, slumping over Rufus' shoulder.  
'Yeah, you're going on a special ride. But you gotta be real quiet, okay?' Rufus nodded, getting a firm grip on Knight's clothes as he stood. 'Quiet now.'  
'm'kay, quiet.' Aloysius agreed with a giggle.

Rolling his eyes, Rufus struggled back to his feet and ducked out of the room carefully. He had to be super cautious now; Aloysius would feel miserable enough without him cracking his head into anything on the way out. Keeping a secure grip on both men, he made his way through the bigger front room of the apartment and fumbled the front door open. Side-stepping out the door, he left it wide open as he headed for the stairs.

Doing his best to ignore the ache in his back from the heavy burden, he made it downstairs without any incidents and headed outside with a purposeful stride. Most people got out of his way, they knew better than to hang around when they saw someone walking around with a couple of limp bodies over his shoulders. One man was even kind enough to unlock and open the car boot so Rufus could drop the drug lord in without having to worry about dropping his burden. Thanking him with shaky Spanish, he opened the back door and eased Aloysius inside carefully before covering him with a blanket.

Slipping in behind the wheel and wondering if they could get a bonus to cover Aloysius' medical costs, Rufus sighed as he pulled away from the scene. He just had to hope that none of the locals reported him once they realised there were six more bodies in that apartment.  
'It's gonna be okay bud, I'll look after ya.' he soothed, glancing in the mirror to check on Aloysius.  
'm'kay.' Aloysius replied, clutching at the blanket over him. 'Ohh tickles.'  
'Oh lord.' Rufus muttered, trying not to think about how weird this could get until Aloysius cleared whatever had been shoved into his system.

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Making it back to their hotel suite a few thousand dollars richer, Rufus sighed softly as he carried Aloysius inside and deposited him on the couch for the moment. The taskforce chief had actually been really understanding, doubling their payment as compensation for Aloysius' unexpected drugging. He'd also warned Rufus that it could take 24 hours for the drug to clear Knight's system and the week after that could be quite rough depending on the addictive qualities of the drug used. Sadly he couldn't be more specific than that since the samples taken from the apartment didn't match anything in their database of new drugs.

Figuring it couldn't hurt, Rufus promised to keep notes on everything that happened while Aloysius was under the influence of this Drug - now tagged as prototype 475. At least that way the taskforce would have some idea what to expect if this drug ever showed up again. That didn't help now though, Rufus was totally out of his depth here and he didn't like that feeling. All he could do was try to patch Aloysius up and keep him safe until the drugs wore off.

Putting away their weapons and making sure the suite was secure, he returned to the couch and watched Aloysius twisting and writhing as he laughed about something only he was enjoying. Shaking his head slowly, Rufus carefully lifted Aloysius again and headed towards the bathroom. Aloysius was sweating profusely, body wracked with tremors as he mumbled incoherently about the cold. Trying his best to soothe and calm Aloysius, Rufus held him securely as he started the bath running and sunk down to sit on the chilly floor.  
'Gonna puke.' Aloysius mumbled, squirming with greater intent now.  
'I gotcha, I gotcha.' Rufus soothed, helping him roll over and lean over the toilet. 'You're safe here.'

Holding Aloysius steady as he bought up everything in his stomach, Rufus turned off the taps and checked the temperature of the water. He had no way of knowing if the water would send Aloysius into another violent outburst but he had to try and get some of the blood off him so he could patch him up.  
'Feel better now?' he asked, lightly rubbing Aloysius' back.  
'Kinda.' Aloysius slurred, arms shaking with the effort to hold his head out of the toilet.  
'Easy now, got a nice warm bath for you.' Rufus continued, guiding Aloysius back and brushing his sweat soaked hair out of his face. 'I gotcha, I'll stay right here.'

Managing to get Aloysius undressed and settled in the water, Rufus kept one hand on his shoulder to stop him sinking too far and started washing away the blood with the softest of touches. So far so good, Aloysius had slumped back and was silent but his body was still in overdrive with the shaking. Humming softly to try and keep him calm, Rufus continued to wash away the dried blood slowly, doing his best to create a calm environment so Aloysius could relax.

For a few minutes there was peace, Aloysius appeared quite content to watch the water trickling over his skin as Rufus dabbed at the bruises and cuts across his chest. Then, with terrifying suddenness, Aloysius snapped, snarling like a wounded beast and lashing out as he screamed about the monsters in the room. Managing to avoid the first swipe, Rufus hissed in pain as the wildly slashing left struck home, scoring a series of bloody gashes over his face.

Clamping down on his anger as he grabbed Aloysius' wrists, Rufus held him firmly and rocked slowly, doing his best to calm Aloysius and get him through this mess. It hurt to see him like this; it hurt so much to know that there was nothing to be done to ease Aloysius' panic until the drugs were cleared from his system. Rufus had never felt so powerless before, he would do anything to help but nothing seemed to work.  
'Sorry, 'm sorry.' Aloysius whimpered, going limp again as he sobbed helplessly.  
'Shh, it's okay. I gotcha, you're safe here.' Rufus soothed, making sure to keep a secure grip on Aloysius' wrists as he went back to cleaning him up. 'I gotcha…I gotcha.'

Getting Aloysius cleaned up and dried off as quickly as he could manage; Rufus picked him up again and carried him through to the bedroom. Settling him down on the bed and making sure he was comfortable, Rufus considered what to do next. He couldn't leave Aloysius unsupervised, just in case the drugs made him even more likely to do something detrimental to his health. At the same time, he couldn't watch Aloysius constantly either. He wasn't a machine, he couldn't forget about his own needs just to make sure Aloysius was safe from the demons in his head.

In the end, he settled for securing Aloysius loosely but firmly, sacrificing two of his shirts to create a set of braided strips that would hopefully keep Aloysius restrained without doing him any serious harm. He could still kick and write around but there was no way in hell he was getting off the bed without permission. Rufus would still have to supervise him but he was hoping that he could snatch a few naps and leave Aloysius on his own for a few minutes as necessary.

Pulling a blanket over Aloysius and making sure he was comfortable, Rufus left him for a few minutes to gulp down a couple of painkillers and wash the worst of the filth off. He grabbed a few snacks from the kitchen, along with a few bottles of water and padded back to the bedroom. Setting everything close to hand, he sunk down on his side of the bed and sighed softly as he watched Aloysius squirming restlessly.  
'You're safe here, bud. Try and get some rest, I gotcha.' Rufus soothed, grabbing his notebook from the bedside table and starting to jot down everything he'd noticed so far.

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Twelve days after the attack, Rufus parked their rental sedan in front of the taskforce HQ and climbed out. In his hand, he clutched a detailed rundown on everything he'd witnessed while Aloysius had been under the influence of prototype 475. Some of it had come during the recovery, Aloysius rambling about the things he'd felt and seen so that the taskforce could possibly make comparisons between his hallucinations and what came in from others who were unfortunate enough to sample the concoction. By the time it was finished, they'd filled eleven pages with all the possible details that the taskforce might need.

Beside him, Aloysius knew he looked like hell but that wasn't about to stop him confronting the head of this damned taskforce. He could have been killed by that mystery drug and they didn't seen to care about the risks. The next few weeks would be tough; he knew he would be off his game for a little while longer as he tried to deal with the aftermath of his first contact with illicit drugs.  
'Ah, welcome back my friends. I was starting to think that you had left.' an older man greeted, approaching them as soon as they entered the building. 'We still have several more jobs for you.'  
'Find some other poor fool to do them. I blame what happened on you; your Intel led us straight into that trap.' Aloysius growled, lifting his gaze slowly.  
'We just came to hand this in and we're out of here. We won't risk our health or our lives dealing with these unknown drugs.' Rufus added, handing over the symptom report.  
'Surely it wasn't that bad.'  
'Based on the research I did, prototype 475 is a mix of multiple drugs. Most likely some mix of cannabis, ecstasy, LSD, heroin and cocaine.' Rufus corrected, keeping half his attention on Aloysius in case he fell again.

Eyes widening, their contact started scanning through the report they had compiled, going through the long and dangerous list of side effects they had noted. Nausea, vomiting, incessant itching, heavy sweating, tremors, fluctuations in appetite, faintness, fluctuations in body temperature, erratic breathing, violent hallucinations, rapid mood swings, violent outbursts, erratic heart rate and blood pressure, insomnia, restlessness, lowered inhibitions, dry mouth, dizziness and increased anxiety and panic attacks.

Looking up from the document, the older man swallowed nervously as he considered what had been presented to him. Then he looked at Aloysius, noting how pale he was and how his clothes seemed to hang off his frame. Whatever had happened since they delivered their target, it had taken a heavy toll on his body.  
'We're going to be out of action for at least another month because you gave us bad Intel. You swore that your man reported three men in the room with our target. I get in there and find eight plus the target. Your insistence that the job be done within three hours took away our chance to do recon of our own so all this mess rests entirely on your shoulders.' Aloysius continued, eyes narrowing dangerously behind his glasses.  
'Come on, let's go. We've got other work to start on.' Rufus sighed, turning and heading for the door. 'This job ain't worth what we're getting paid.'  
'Fuck yeah.' Aloysius nodded, still a little unsteady on his feet as he turned and followed Rufus.


	4. Revelations

Making sure that there was nothing behind him that could give away his location, Aloysius settled at the table and waited nervously for the call to connect. After months of hiding from this, he finally felt ready to call home and talk to those he had been forced to abandon. Fidgeting with his shirt and hoping that his hair wasn't a total mess, he froze as the call was finally picked up and he was face to face with an old friend.  
"Captain Knight? Is that really you?" she asked, leaning forward a little more.  
'Yeah, it's really me, Emily.' Aloysius grinned, hoping that she didn't realise he was nervous as hell.  
"We heard about what you did in Yemen." She continued, just staring at him. "I never realised we were…"  
'Emily, you've known me for years. Do you honestly think I would sell out American service members for small change like that?' Aloysius asked, shaking his head in wonder. 'It's all bullshit, I found out something I wasn't meant to know and a government organisation tried to eliminate me to protect their secret. When that didn't work, they created the betrayal story and murdered my wife and baby girl to get their message across.'  
"Oh God. Mel and Christine are really gone?" Emily asked, eyes widening in shock as she sagged back in her chair. "What can we do to help?"  
'Yeah, they're really gone. Not sure where they were buried but if you find out, I'd appreciate if someone in the company could leave some flowers there every week.' Aloysius sighed, running one hand through his hair.  
"I'll make sure we find out and will assign someone to tend to their resting place weekly." Emily nodded, picking up her pen and starting to write. "Anything else Sir?"  
'Spread the word that I'm still alive. I won't be able to make it into the office any time soon; I don't want to bring down any heat on the company. We'll keep to the previous arrangement, email me all the vitally important stuff and I'll take care of it as it comes in.' Aloysius directed, feeling his confidence growing as he figured out how to balance things.  
"It will be done Sir. Shall I spread the word that you are innocent of the accusations and still alive?" Emily asked, looking up from her notepad again.  
'That would be smart, Emily. Might be a good idea to take a picture and pass that around the staff so they know it's true. When I've got a few minutes, I'll write up an email and send it to all the staff to reassure them that this isn't some complex hoax.' Aloysius nodded, already thinking about what he wanted to say to them all. 'Be careful about letting the clients know. I still don't know who else might be involved in this conspiracy.'  
"Of course Sir, I'll make sure to inform the staff to keep this confidential until you instruct otherwise." Emily promised, putting her pen down and turning her full attention to him. "Uh, Sir, who is that behind you?"

Turning to look, Aloysius chuckled softly as he beckoned Rufus closer. He should have known that this would happen, his staff always worried about him whenever he was away from the company so the sight of Rufus lurking around behind him was sure to make Emily worry for his safety.  
'What's going on, Boss?' Rufus asked, pulling up a chair and settling beside him.  
'Rufus, I'd like you to meet my secretary, Emily Richardson.' Aloysius grinned, leaning back in his chair a little more. 'Emily, this is my best friend Rufus. He got caught up in this mess too.'  
"A pleasure to meet you Rufus." Emily smiled, looking up for a moment. "Ah, Christopher, there's something you should see here."  
'Secretary? What's going on?' Rufus questioned, still trying to catch up.  
"What have you got…" Christopher started, appearing on the screen. "Alloy? Is that really you, my boy? I thought I'd lost you."  
'I'm still alive Christopher. Had a few close calls but I'm still here.' Aloysius grinned, nudging his glasses up and wiping his eyes quickly. 'Rufus, meet Christopher Davis, my chauffeur since I was about six.'  
'A secretary and a chauffer? Just what is going on here?' Rufus sighed, not at all pleased about being left out of the loop.  
"Have you ever heard of A New Dawn Consolidated Military Support Services?" Christopher asked, leaning forward a little more.  
'Yeah, I've heard of it. Ended up at the Louisiana centre after I lost my parents.' Rufus nodded, trying not to think about those days.  
"Well, Aloysius is the owner and CEO of the company. Has been since he was 22." Christopher revealed, a sparkle in his eyes as he spoke.  
'Yeah…uh…surprise.' Aloysius flushed, looking away for a moment. He hated it when anyone made a fuss of the fact he owned the biggest veteran focused non-profit in America.  
'Always figured you'd been raised with a silver spoon but this is insane.' Rufus remarked, turning to look at Aloysius in shock. 'I don't believe this, I'm a Louisiana hick running around with the owner of A New Dawn.'  
'At least you know your parents loved you. I'm not sure mine ever did. I was raised by the staff, only ever saw my parents at meals and even then, they never spoke to me about anything.' Aloysius admitted, glancing towards the screen. 'Christopher became my surrogate father. He helped with my homework, counselled me when I was hurting and did everything else a father was meant to do. Well, almost everything. Tobias, the groundsman, he was the one to take me hunting and fishing at the summer estate. Maria and her husband Francesco taught me how to cook, hunt and forage, sharing their knowledge with me since they had no children of their own.'

Reaching out, Rufus draped one arm around Aloysius' shoulders and pulled him closer. It wasn't just about comforting Aloysius though, Rufus also wanted to show Emily and Christopher that he was safe and being cared for while he was away from them.  
"Christian will be relieved to hear you're still around, Alloy. He was starting to wonder if his services would ever be needed again." Christopher remarked, gaze flicking towards Rufus as he nodded faintly.  
'Don't get jealous buddy, I knew Christian long before I met you.' Aloysius uttered, leaning into the support of his best friend. 'He's my personal pilot, in charge of a pair of Learjets. At least, they were Lear, he might have upgraded again.'  
"Well actually, we decided to switch to Gulfstream. They negotiated a deal to sell us a pair of GR650ER's in recognition of all that we do for the veterans of America." Emily corrected, sending him a picture of the two jets. "Basically, we got the brand new Gulfstreams for the sale price of the Learjets. Christian handled everything personally and made certain that the new jets met the same exacting requirements as the old Learjets."

Pulling up the photo, Aloysius couldn't help but smile as he admired the gleaming planes on the screen. They looked incredible, the dark blue paint broken up by a single thick gold line running all the way from nose to tail and the company logo done in silver just in front of the wings. The ID numbers were also done in silver and gold, standing out beautifully from the rich blue background.  
'Whoa, they're gorgeous.' Rufus uttered, nudging the laptop around a touch to see them better.  
"As per tradition, we named them after prominent battles. Guadalcanal is on the right and Iwo Jima on the left." Christopher added, his smile growing as he watched Aloysius.  
'They're perfect, absolutely perfect.' Aloysius smiled, vaguely wondering when he would get a chance to see them up close. 'Tell Christian that I love his new ladies and can't wait to see them up close. He's done a great job on them.'  
"I'll make sure he knows, Alloy." Christopher nodded, resting one hand on Emily's shoulder. "He's still got the same number as always. He'd probably appreciate a personal call."  
'I will definitely call him in the next few days. Things are just a little crazy at the moment.' Aloysius promised, looking up at Rufus. 'Rufus will make sure of it.'  
'Count on it.' Rufus agreed, squeezing Aloysius closer for a moment. 'Ya don't have to worry, I'll keep him safe. Ain't got many friends in this world so I hang onto what I got. Soon as we can, I'll get him home for a visit. Can't really hang around anywhere though.'  
"I can see why you two get along so well." Christopher laughed, face lighting up with joy. "You can consider yourself part of the New Dawn family, Rufus."  
'Sadly, we've got to get going. Got some temporary work lined up, enough to keep us busy for a couple of months. After than, we'll see what happens.' Aloysius sighed, sitting up straighter. 'I'll get that email out either tonight or tomorrow. Depending on time constraints, I'll call a few other staff members just to let them know this isn't a hoax.'  
"Well now that you're actually smiling, let me get that screencap to add to the memo." Emily guided, adjusting something on her end. "Rufus, you might want to lean out a little unless you want to be the latest gossip around A New Dawn."  
'I'll pass on that.' Rufus grinned, leaning back to escape the camera.  
"Come home soon, Alloy. We miss you." Christopher offered, bowing his head for a moment. "It's just not the same."  
'I know Christopher, I know. I'll be home when I can.' Aloysius sighed, hating that his choices affected his surrogate family so much. 'Be safe, I'll call again when I can.'  
"We'll hold down the fort in your absence." Emily smiled, hugging Christopher close with one arm as she cut the call.

For a few moments, Aloysius just stared at the screen, letting everything sink in as he enjoyed the rare moment of closeness with Rufus. Now that they were getting the hang of life on the wrong side of the law, there wasn't much time for just sitting around and having a beer as they talked about whatever took their fancy.  
'You gonna be okay?' Rufus asked, squeezing him closer for a moment.  
'Yeah, I just need some time to think.' Aloysius nodded, slipping away and heading towards his bedroom. 'Got a lot to deal with.'

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Emerging from his room as it started to get dark; Aloysius paused as unfamiliar words swirled through the apartment. He could tell it was Rufus, the voice so familiar even if the words were gibberish to his untrained ears. He'd never heard anything like it before, the rhythm and stresses so strange and yet, oddly comforting to his ears. Whatever it was, it was soothing and almost safe; something he hadn't truly felt since that night in Yemen.

Pausing again in the doorway into the living room, he watched Rufus sitting there, eyes closed and rocking slowly as he sang his heart out. He was wearing a shirt Aloysius had never seen before, the dark blue shirt hanging a little loose on him and decorated with lines of white diamonds resting tip-to-tip along his arms and around the yoke as well as at the collar and cuffs. He seemed so calm, oblivious to everything around him.

Finishing his song and opening his eyes slowly, Rufus smiled fondly at Aloysius as he toyed with his cuffs. He didn't enjoy talking about this outside his family, most people didn't understand him and he was nervous about revealing too much.  
'You're not the only one hiding things, Aloysius. But while people respect you for what you hide, I only get ridicule and mistrust for mine.' Rufus sighed, lifting his gaze slowly.  
'I don't understand.' Aloysius offered, meeting Rufus' gaze. 'Talk to me, buddy. What are you trying to tell me?'  
'I'm part Choctaw. My parents were half-Choctaw, my maternal grandfather was American and my paternal grandfather was Irish. Both sides made the choice not to stay on the Oklahoma reservation and moved back to Louisiana, settling in one of the poorest areas of Baton Rouge. My parents were practically raised together, balancing out the lessons of their Elders with the formal education demanded by the state.' Rufus started, looking away as if he expected to be derided for his heritage.  
'I never would have guessed.' Aloysius uttered, amazed by what he was hearing.  
'Somehow my grandparents managed to send a total of thirteen kids through school, mum and her six siblings plus dad and his five siblings. They made it work though, coming of age and graduating from school before getting married and starting their own family. They ended up having six of their own, I'm number three.' Rufus explained, playing with the silver feather hanging around his neck.  
'So that song you were singing…' Aloysius started, getting up and moving to sit beside Rufus. 'It was beautiful, even if I didn't understand a word.'  
'My mom and grandmother always sang it to us, it's all about the Trail of Tears and everything our people suffered on the journey to the res.' Rufus offered, relaxing a little more. 'I don't speak Choctaw much anymore, got ridiculed for it from my very first day in the Army. My parents weren't sure about me joining up, they knew it would be tough for me but they accepted my choice. Mom was so upset when she saw me after basic; she was horrified that the Army made me cut my braids.'  
'For some reason, I can't picture you with braids.' Aloysius chuckled, trying to imagine that image and failing miserably.  
'Hang on a moment; I have something I want to show you.' Rufus nodded, getting up and heading towards his bedroom.

Coming back with a dirty piece of paper in one hand, Rufus settled back down and held it out calmly for Aloysius to take. Accepting the page and unfolding it, Aloysius' jaw dropped as three photos slipped out and landed in his lap. Gathering them up respectfully, he looked at the images closely, working to put the pieces together in his head and understand what Rufus was trying to tell him without words.

The first one was a big group of people, gathered around four elderly people seated on a bench. He counted thirteen middle-aged people, thirty younger adults and probably 25 teenagers and children. Looking again, he spotted two little babies in the mix as well.   
'That's most of the family. If I recall, 15 members of the family couldn't make it to the event.' Rufus explained, also looking at the photo. 'These were taken at my 18th birthday celebration.'  
'Whoa, I never expected to see such a huge family.' Aloysius remarked, scanning the photo slowly in search of a familiar face.

Flipping to the second photo, Aloysius smiled at the smaller family group. Two older people snuggled close and surrounded by six younger adults and eight kids. Wearing traditional clothes, they looked so happy and at peace together. This time it was relatively easy to spot a much younger Rufus standing in the back, hands resting on the shoulders of his parents. He looked so different, clean shaven with two long braids hanging over his shoulders and wearing a bright blue shirt, not at all dissimilar to the one he was wearing now.  
'Whoa, now that's not what I was expecting.' Aloysius uttered, staring at the photo in disbelief.  
'That's one of the last photos of me with the braids. Shipped out for basic about a week after my birthday.' Rufus chuckled, shifting a little closer.  
'Tell me more.' Aloysius requested, totally enchanted by this whole idea of a big loving family.  
'My parents, Bruce and Maria. My siblings; David, Cheyenne, me, Lucas, Maryanne and Rebecca. Those two are David's kids, Sarah and Jacob. Cheyenne's got three kids, Tobias, Marcus and Jonathon. Lucas has one kid, Jacqueline. These two are Maryanne's kids, Rachael and Stephen.' Rufus guided, pointing out each familiar face.  
'You're so lucky to have such a close family.' Aloysius sighed, admiring the happy family for a few minutes before flipping to the third photo.

For a moment he just stared, trying to match up the young man in the photo with the man he knew and trusted so much. Looking back at the second photo, he glanced up at Rufus in askance. He had no idea what to make of all the feathers, fringes and bright colours wrapped and draped around a much slimmer, shorter Rufus.  
'You don't like it?' Rufus asked, suddenly uncertain as he reached for the photos.  
'No, it's not that. I don't think I truly understand what it all means.' Aloysius admitted, looking down at the photos again. 'My understanding of Native culture is limited at best.'  
'this was my traditional costume at the last powwow I participated in, my mother and aunts spent months making it so it would properly suit a young man on the cusp of adulthood. My birthday celebration was the final fitting before the powwow. Every detail has great symbolism amongst our people.' Rufus explained, running his thumb along the edge of his solo photo. 'I would prefer not to go into too much detail.'  
'I understand buddy. You don't need to explain anything.' Aloysius grinned, looking at the photo again. 'You look really happy in this photo.'  
'Those were good days. I miss that innocence and freedom. But we all have to grow up and leave behind the joy of childhood to become warriors in our own rights.' Rufus shrugged, taking the big family photo and looking at it. 'At least I can live in the hope that one day I can return to my people and regale them with tales of my brave deeds.'  
'I'll make sure you get there, buddy.' Aloysius promised, handing the photos back and watching Rufus wrap them up again.  
'I believe you, Boss.' Rufus grinned, setting the photos on the coffee table and settling back. 'I'm glad we could talk about this stuff, it still feels like I hardly know you.'  
'Give it time, buddy. I don't like talking about my past, I'm not proud of being raised as part of the one percent. I'll try to let you in a bit more though.' Aloysius nodded, getting to his feet. 'You want a beer while I'm up?'  
'Only if there's food to go with it.' Rufus chuckled, sprawling out comfortably.  
'I could knock up a couple of pizzas.' Aloysius offered, peering in the fridge for ingredients.  
'Sounds like a plan. Anything I can do to help?' Rufus agreed, starting to sit up again.  
'Nah, I got this. You just relax.' Aloysius returned, rattling around in the kitchen merrily.

Putting his feet up and listening to Aloysius busy in the kitchen, Rufus smiled softly as his mind drifted back to his childhood. He could still remember pausing in his studies and humming along with her as she sang while she prepared the next meal for the family. He was definitely surprised when he picked up on Aloysius singing softly…no, not singing per se. He was chanting cadence quietly, everything else falling into rhythm with the familiar words. Shifting again, Rufus settled against the arm of the couch and zoned out as he listened, mind drifting and body relaxed fully for the first time in weeks.


	5. Success

Reasonably sure he could handle anyone trying to come after the bounty on his own hide, Aloysius broke cover and charged into the warehouse where his targets were supposedly hiding. The major problem was surviving the other competitors that had also been sent to this location to grab the kidnappers that had taken cover here after ripping off some British billionaire and sending his younger son's desecrated body back once they had their millions. According to the hunt brief, they still had his older son and were demanding more money for his release.

Sliding under a toppled metal shelving unit blocking the personnel door on this side, he snapped his pistols up as he rolled to his feet and scanned his surrounds. For a moment he thought he was back in Yemen, the place looked like a bomb had gone off recently. Shelving units and fragments of shipping crates were everywhere and the air was thick with the cloying scents of gunfire and blood. Ducking behind one of the steel pillars holding up the roof, he listened intently to the gunfire coming from above and thought fast, calculating the numbers of enemy competitors based off the various weapons and their known firing rates.

Not liking his odds but left with little choice, he pushed off the pillar and ran, holstering his pistols on the fly and pulling his paired 870 shotguns instead. Kicking down one of the few intact doors left in the place, he hit the stairs on the fly and powered up, recalling the maps he'd been given and considering where the kidnappers were most likely to be hiding. He couldn't just worry about the kidnappers though, he had no doubt that his competitors would be more than happy to try for his bounty as well.  
"Boss, pickin' up a lot of chatter on the scanner. Looks like they know you're around." Rufus warned, splitting his attention for a moment.  
'Figured that would happen.' Aloysius noted, squeezing the triggers and ducking back as a hell storm of rounds assaulted his position. 'Hold position for now. Gonna need a fast exfil.'  
"Copy that." Rufus confirmed as his voice filled with worry. "Watch ya butt."  
'That's the plan.' Aloysius replied, spinning out from cover and blasting away through the smoke.

Emptying both shotgun mags, he holstered them smoothly and stopped to grab the nearest semi-auto off the floor. At this point, he wasn't overly fussy but he was certainly pleased to discover that at least some of these assholes were using familiar M16 type weaponry. Checking the magazine, he nodded faintly as he charged deeper into the maze from hell. Recalling every trick the Army had ever taught him, he swept each corridor and stairwell thoroughly and efficiently, showing no mercy to anyone that stepped out in his path.

Sweeping around another corner, he dropped to the floor and opened fire again, smirk growing at the death cries of at least three competitors. Bouncing up again, he quickly checked the dead for ammo and better weaponry before moving on again. Picking up the pace, he tapped at his radio as he snapped out his pistol and dropped another bastard trying to sneak up behind him.  
'Anyone talking about the targets?' he asked, hustling down another flight of stairs.  
"Nothin' concrete on that. I have got a Demon talkin' 'bout headin' below ground though." Rufus replied, sounding a little distracted. "Got a lot of chatter about you as well. Sounds like this Demon has sent half his force after you."  
'Great, just what I needed.' Aloysius groaned, diving for cover as the wall behind him dissolved into bullet impacts. 'Any idea how many?'  
"Can't be exact but I guess around fifteen." Rufus offered, clearly worried for Aloysius' safety.  
'This gets better and better.' Aloysius remarked dryly, heaving up and taking off along a different path. 'Keep digging, I need more Intel. It's fucking insane in here.'  
"I'll see what I can dig out." Rufus promised. "Or do you want some backup in there?"  
'Negative, I need you on overwatch.' Aloysius corrected, plunging down another flight of stairs.  
"Copy that."

Head snapping up as something clanked on the walkways he'd just abandoned, Aloysius swore as he spun and took off running at full sprint. Behind him, five frag grenades bounced on the concrete and exploded, sending out a devastating wave of shrapnel in every direction. Gritting his teeth, Aloysius landed heavily behind a half-demolished concrete wall and groaned as he looked down at the small collection of shrapnel in his legs. Wrenching each one out and tossing them aside, he pushed back to his feet and listened carefully for any more threats around him.

Picking a direction and following through, he ducked and weaved among the debris scattered across the floor, still thinking about what Rufus had told him as he listened for any voices in the chaos. There was every chance that the kidnappers were in the underground area discovered by Demon but something didn't feel right about the situation. Making a snap decision, he turned away and bounded up the nearest stairwell for another look at the situation.

Spotting something odd, he hustled up another level and broke left, downing his opponents with clinical accuracy, never wasting a shot as he charged towards the far end of the warehouse. Something about the dimensions was wrong, the walkways appeared far too short to match the external dimensions of the building. Thundering along the walkways, dodging frag and bullets from every direction, he closed the distance fast, protected gaze searching for any secrets in the wall as he continued to run full pelt at what appeared to be solid steel.

Noting an unusual gap in the wall ahead as he leapt for cover behind a stack of crates that hadn't yet been demolished, Aloysius looked closer at the wall and smiled darkly as his trained eyes settled on a cleverly hidden lock barely visible among the corrugations of the wall. Bursting from his hiding spot, he opened fire back along the walkway, forcing his pursuers to break off and find cover. Dropping the 16 once it was empty, he pulled his favourite USP with his right hand as he slotted a breeching round into the chamber of his left side 870. Using the hardened lip of the holster to work the slide, he drew his shotgun and aimed on the lock he'd already identified.

Firing the shotgun and holstering it as he ran, he levelled his pistol as he charged the last few steps towards the door. He had no idea what was on the other side, he just had to run and hope for the best. Tripping over something, he pitched forward and barely had a chance to think before smashing through the door and sliding across the grated floor. Rolling onto his side, he took in the situation as he snapped his aim up.

Four neatly dressed men gathered around a fifth figure bound to a chair with a thick fabric bag over his head. Opening fire, Aloysius dropped the first two with matching holes in their foreheads and spraying their prisoner with blood from both sides. Flipping onto his knees, he nailed three in the shoulder as four ducked behind their prisoner then came back up and pressed a gun to the bound man's head. Ignoring them for a moment, Aloysius jumped to his feet and moved away from the door, hissing in pain as a round burned through his right calf.

Lunging forward as he pulled his second USP, he nailed kidnapper three with a shot to the chest as he caught number four in the leg with a neat double tap. Holstering his left pistol, he ran to the prisoner and calmly put another round into kidnapper four.  
'Hold still, I'll have you out of here shortly.' Aloysius directed, pulling his knife and starting on the zip-ties holding him to the chair. 'Rufus, update!'  
"Chatter is gettin' frantic. Looks like you kicked a hornet's nest." Rufus briefed. "Less voices on the scanner though. Demon sounds pissed, not sure why though."  
'I can think of a few reasons. Lots of bodies and he got played.' Aloysius smirked, dropping another two as they tried to enter the chamber. 'Those blueprints show any other ways out of the south end upper floor?'  
"One sec." Rufus offered, the channel filling with the fluttering of paper. "Yeah, got a window that leads to an escape stairwell. South-west corner, second window on the west side."  
'That'll do nicely.' Aloysius nodded, yanking the bag off the prisoner's head and hauling him to his feet. 'This way, stay close and stay quiet.'

Scooping up another dropped M16, Aloysius emptied the clip blindly out the doorway, once again forcing his competitors to duck for cover and giving him a chance to break for the window. Keeping a firm grip on his young companion, Aloysius tossed the rifle and once again pulled his pistol, loosing the last shot in the magazine to shatter the target window.  
'Keep moving kid, we'll get you back to your father in no time.' Aloysius directed, shoving the youngster towards the broken window. You better be in position, buddy. Exfil now!'  
"Almost there." Rufus confirmed, voice tight as he spoke.  
'Come on kid, let's bail.' Aloysius grinned, dropping another guy in fatigues in the doorway as he scrambled out onto the escape stairwell. 'Move if you want to live!'

Flying down the stairwell, Aloysius took every chance he could to return fire towards the goons stepping out of the window. Jumping off the end, he grabbed the kid by the arm and started running, determined to put some space between them and the warehouse before Demon and his losers figured out the target was already gone.  
'That is far enough Captain Knight!' a cold, British voice warned as the air filled with the sounds of cocking rifles. 'Hand over the boy.'  
'Go to hell!' Aloysius snarled, turning towards the voice and making sure to keep the younger man close. 'You don't intimidate me, Demon!'  
'Come now, you must realise that you cannot hope to escape us.' Demon continued, lowering his rifle and stepping forward. 'Hand over the target and you can leave.'  
"Ten seconds out Boss." Rufus warned, voice tight with anticipation.  
'You must think poorly of me if you believe I would fall for that, Demon.' Aloysius laughed, tightening his grip on their target. 'One doesn't survive long in Delta by being stupid.'

With perfect timing and pinpoint accuracy, Rufus arrived on the scene in a beat up old van, the side door already open as he crushed two of Demon's men under the tires. Praying his worn Kevlar held, Aloysius shoved the youngster towards the van as he whipped up his pistols again. Dropping two and stumbling back as his armour caught three rounds, Aloysius felt hands grabbing his armour and tugging backwards until he tumbled into the van.

Rolling quickly, Aloysius grabbed the door and started to pull it closed as Rufus gunned the engine and squealed away from the battle. Emptying his pistol out the door, he slammed it closed and turned to the target, huddled against the back of Rufus' chair.  
'You okay, kid?' he asked, unbuttoning his shredded shirt quickly.  
'I believe so, aside from this.' he panted, lifting his head slowly. 'I'm Richard. Who are you?'  
'Aside from…oh shit.' Aloysius groaned, spotting the slowly growing blood stain on the younger man's shirt. 'Get your shirt off.'  
'What happened?' Rufus asked, keeping his focus on the road ahead.  
'Kid caught a bullet in the right side.' Aloysius briefed, lunging for the medkit tucked in one of the cargo nets. 'Not sure when.'  
'Right before I grabbed you.' Richard groaned, peeling off his short and sagging back against the chair. 'That really hurts.'  
'Just hold on Richard, we'll have you back to your father in no time.' Aloysius promised, pressing a clean field dressing to the wound. 'Apply pressure to that, I need some other supplies.'  
'How bad is it?' Rufus questioned, checking their GPS for any hospitals nearby.  
'It's only minor. Judging by the wound shape, Richard caught a ricochet.' Aloysius shrugged, tearing open the second medkit and digging around for the right tools. 'This ain't going to be fun, Richard. I gotta get that bullet out before it does more damage.'  
'We're only fifteen minutes out, Boss. You sure you wanna do that here?' Rufus remarked, swinging the van around a sharp corner. 'Especially since we're still under fire!'  
'This Demon doesn't know when to quit.' Aloysius growled, taking stock of the situation quickly and calmly. 'Head for the manor, Richard has to be first priority. I'll handle Demon and his goons.'  
'Check the red box. Got my hands on some special pest control.' Rufus guided, changing gears and bursting out onto a wider street.  
'Richard, stay down, keep pressure on the wound and hold on tight.' Aloysius continued, scrambling for the red box near the rear doors.

Wrenching it open, Aloysius chuckled as he lifted out the M240 and quickly worked a fresh belt in before using the butt of the heavy machine gun to shatter the rear window. Cocking the weapon, he propped the barrel on the window frame and braced for the recoil as he searched for his targets. That wasn't particularly easy with the way Rufus was swerving around traffic, ducking and weaving their bullet scarred van between unsuspecting innocents sharing the space.  
'You still with us Richard?' Aloysius called, letting off a burst when a black SUV tried coming up on the inside lane.  
'The pain is getting worse.' Richard groaned, lifting his head again.  
'Yeah and it's only going to get worse until you get treatment. Just hang in there, we're almost home.' Aloysius nodded, swinging his aim to stop another black SUV on the outside. 'Come on Rufus, we're sitting ducks back here!'  
'This brick ain't made for speed.' Rufus snapped, grabbing the AK-47 on the seat beside him and thrusting it out the window. 'I got trouble up front too.'  
'God damn it, all this fuss for one rich kid? It's insane.' Aloysius grumbled, unleashing hell into another black SUV trying to ram them.  
'My guess, Demon don't like the fact some new face stole his prize.' Rufus commented, swerving sharply to the right again. 'Now he wants payback.'  
'Save the commentary for after.' Aloysius barked, ducking as a wave of gunfire slammed into the back of the van. 'I count another five SUV's on our tail.'  
'Got three ahead.' Rufus returned, driving with his knee as he switched magazines and opened fire again. 'Make that two.'  
'Down to four on our ass.' Aloysius reported, watching one of the SUVs flip off the road and burst into flames.  
'Hold on!' Rufus yelled, tossing his rifle to the seat and wrestling the van around a dangerously tight turn. 'Oh shit!'

Clinging to the door with one hand and hammering away at another SUV still doggedly pursuing them, Aloysius shifted his feet for better balance as the van bumped back onto all fours. Dropping his aim and shredding the front end of the SUV, Aloysius ducked quickly to avoid the return fire and glanced over to make sure Richard was still conscious. The kid looked positively terrified, still clutching at his wounded side as he clung to Rufus' chair.  
'Boss, we got trouble up front!' Rufus yelled, yanking the van left again. 'Now!'  
'Keep ya head down, Richard. We're almost there.' Aloysius soothed, scrambling past the terrified teen and bracing between the seats. 'Oh come on, that's not fair.'

Aloysius wasn't sure where the Lynx helicopter had come from, he already had enough to worry about without thinking about that bird. It simply had to be destroyed though, it was hovering right over the road they needed to take to get Richard back to his father. Thinking fast, he lunged and grabbed a full magazine from the bag on the passenger seat and quickly reloaded the AK-47 sitting there. Cocking the weapon, he handed it to Rufus and reached to take the wheel.  
'Won't get through the cockpit so either hit the Jesus nut or blow the shit out of the rotors.' he directed, holding the van steady as Rufus leant out the window.  
'No chance I'll hit the nut from this angle.' Rufus replied, leaning out further and tipping his aim up quickly. 'As a pilot, this is fucked up.'

Not even sure this would work, Rufus unleashed the full magazine into the blurred rotors overhead, free hand reaching out for a fresh magazine when the bird showed no sign of leaving after the first thirty rounds. Reloading as fast as he could, he shouldered the rifle again and unleashed hell as a third mag landed in his lap just in case. Secretly impressed that the pilot was still in position even though his bird was clearly in distress, Rufus reloaded again and altered his aim, chipping away at the rotors above until finally the pilot made the choice and peeled away.  
'Was starting to think he wouldn't fuck off.' Aloysius remarked, handing back the wheel and uncurling from over the bench seats.  
'That makes two of us.' Rufus nodded, slapping in a fresh mag and taking the wheel. 'I see the manor. Ya almost home Richard.'

Bolting back to the rear window, Aloysius shouldered the heavier 240 and scanned the roadway for any more of Demon's black SUVs. He couldn't help but laugh, spotting five of them parked at the fancy stone gateway at the end of the driveway.  
'What's so funny?' Rufus asked, glancing over his shoulder.  
'Demon and his boys are stopped at the gate.' Aloysius replied, returning the 240 to its box.  
'They'll be waitin' when we're done here.' Rufus warned, slowing down as he approached the grand house. 'Might need to see if there's another way out of here.'  
'We should be able to arrange something.' Aloysius nodded, taking a moment to down a couple of painkillers until there was time to check how badly he was injured.

Sliding the door open and helping Aloysius out, Rufus stooped and very gently lifted Richard from the cold floor, cradling the exhausted young man to his chest carefully. He would likely need years of therapy to recover from his ordeal and would end up with a scar or two as well but at least he was home safe and in reasonably good shape.  
'Is it over?' Richard muttered, lifting his head slowly.  
'Yeah, you're home now Richard.' Rufus soothed, following Aloysius up the grand stairs to the front doors. 'Soon you can rest.'  
'Here we go.' Aloysius uttered, straightening his shirt as he rang the bell.

Moving to the side as the intricately carved door swung open, Aloysius slapped on a tired smile as he waited for their host to spot the young man in Rufus' arms. For a few painful moments, the older gentleman who opened the door just stared at them blankly.  
'Master Richard? Quickly, come inside.' he insisted, swinging the door open wide. 'You will find a comfortable spot for Master Richard in there.'  
'Who is it Tobias?' another voice called, the stately tone echoing off the fine statuettes in their nooks on the walls.  
'Two men bringing Master Richard home.' Tobias replied, turning away from the Bounty Hunters.  
'They found Richard? Alive?'

Paying little attention to the British voices, Aloysius peeled away the soaked dressing and tossed it into the bag Rufus was holding. The wound was still dripping with blood, much slower but still a problem. Peering closer at the actual impact site, Aloysius frowned and started gently massaging around the wound until he was rewarded with the sharp tink of the bullet popping out and bouncing on the tiled floor.  
'Was that entirely necessary?'  
'Well sure. Had to get the bullet out before it did more damage.' Aloysius nodded, pulling out a fresh dressing and pressing it to the wound. 'Got a doctor in the house or am I stitching this myself?'  
'I will call Dr Bloomfield at once.' Tobias replied, turning and hurrying away as another set of footsteps came closer.  
'Father.' Richard smiled, moving one hand to press against his wound. 'The wound is minor.'  
'And how would you know?'  
'Because I told him it was minor.' Aloysius offered, looking up at the speaker. 'Sir Thomas?'  
'Do I know you?' Thomas asked, peering down his nose at Aloysius.  
'We last met when I was about five or six, I believe.' Aloysius grinned, easing to his feet. 'Aloysius Knight, at your service.'  
'Aloysius? Why yes, now I remember. I was visiting your father to see what advice he could give regarding setting up something like A New Dawn Consolidated Military Support Services in Britain. You were standing by his side, attentively listening to everything being said.' Thomas smiled, gaze drifting to his son on the couch. 'What happened to my son?'  
'He was in the middle of a firestorm, Sir Thomas. Really he is quite lucky to only have caught one ricochet.' Aloysius replied, stepping back a half-pace. 'Best not to ask too many questions, you might not like the answers.'  
'Very good.' Thomas agreed, watching his son closely. 'Well then, I suppose there is the matter of your payment for bringing my son home.'  
'That would be grand, Sir Thomas.' Aloysius agreed, ignoring the confused look he got from Rufus at his tonal change. 'Might I also ask, is there another way off this property? Should we try to leave via the front gates, there will likely be another bloodbath.'  
'Of course, there is a road through the woods that leads to the next town.' Thomas nodded, motioning for Aloysius to precede him from the room. 'I could even supply you a vehicle to replace that badly damaged van of yours.'  
'That is most kind of you.' Aloysius nodded, looking back over his shoulder. 'Keep an eye on him, Rufus. This will not take long.'

Stooping to pick up the bullet and wiping it off on his sleeve, Rufus chuckled softly as he set it on the table by Richard's head. The young man had been lucky, there was no doubting that. He'd been right in the middle of an active shootout and come through with just a single bullet wound.  
'Keep it, for good luck.' he grinned, moving back again as another grey haired man entered the room and took a knee beside Richard.  
'Good lord, what happened?'  
'Ricocheted bullet caught him in the side. Shallow penetration and the round has already been removed.' Rufus replied, hunching a little in an effort to hide his sheer height.  
'And who are you?'  
'I'm Rufus, one of two men responsible for bringing Richard home safely. One ricochet ain't bad considerin' we estimate there were thirty to forty shooters in the building.' Rufus replied, eyeing the doctor warily. 'My friend took at least three rounds to protect Richard from further harm.'  
'Come on buddy, time to bail.' Aloysius called, waiting in the doorway for him. 'Thomas has arranged a Land Rover for us.'  
'What about our gear in the van?' Rufus asked, heading for the door.  
'Already loaded up.' Aloysius grinned, leading Rufus through the grand house. 'Thomas sent James out to bring the van around the back so Demon and his goons don't know where we are.'  
'Smart move.' Rufus agreed, looking forward to getting away from Demon. 'So where to this time?'  
'Naples. Thomas has a friend there who needs some help. He wasn't very forthcoming with details but I think there might be some flying involved.' Aloysius shrugged, bounding down the back stairs and approaching the ugly grey box on wheels waiting for them.  
'You know just how to convince me, Boss.' Rufus laughed, sliding into the passenger seat and holding on as Aloysius gunned the engine and roared out of the compound.


	6. Heist

Still discussing their options as they disembarked from the Guadalcanal, the weary pair shouldered their bags and made their way across the tarmac. Behind them, Christian turned the magnificent jet and launched back into the sky. He wasn't going far, just across the Tasman to Melbourne. There he would wait for news and either come back to collect the pair or head back to America if they were successful. Aloysius hadn't been sure about using a company jet to get into position for the job but time ran short and they had no other choice. They had to move fast or risk losing the jet again. Word was that it would only be here for 48 hours before disappearing again.

At this point, they only had the basics of a plan put together, enough for them to feel comfortable going ahead with but lacking contingencies and backups in case something went wrong. They had permission to use any force necessary to ensure the plane was secured and returned to Naples intact and undamaged. That didn't sit too well with Rufus though; he wanted to see if they could pull this off without killing a fellow pilot simply for doing their job. He would prefer not to risk Rufus on some half-cocked idea that backfired at the worst possible time. At the same time, he had to trust in Rufus to handle the situation as any good pilot should.

Entering the small terminal and heading for the lounge, they settled in the far corner and got comfortable as Aloysius pulled out their mission folder and flipped it open. Pinned to the cover was a picture of their target aircraft alongside pictures of the current owner and her chosen pilot. Rufus was curious about the plane, he hadn't realised Dassault had started making business jets much less anything as big as the Falcon 50. On the other side they had a spec list on the plane half tucked behind the dossier on the pilot. He had quite a colourful history, full of gaps and disappearances so neither Bounty Hunter was overly confident about catching him off guard. They'd done some digging into known contacts and everything pointed to some serious trouble if they couldn't get this right. All they could do was hope that none of his friends had decided to come along on the Dassault as protection. 

Name: Leslie Warren  
Rank: Lieutenant  
Known Alias: Sky Monster  
Age: 26  
Height: 6' 10"  
Weight: 300 lbs  
Hair: Brown  
Eyes: Grey  
Country of Origin: New Zealand  
Known associates: Jack West Jr, Lily West, Zoë Kissane, Zahir al Anzar al Abbas, Benjamin Cohen, Max Epper.  
Notes: Completed five years in NZAF as a C-130 pilot. Known to be working in connection with a Coalition of Minnows. Exact details of Coalition unknown. Has been seen working around a Boeing 747 formally possessed by Saddam Huissein, identified as the Halicarnassus. Known to be involved in various international heists and battles working in support of the abovementioned associates. 

Still running through options, Rufus lifted his gaze from the file to scan the tarmac again. So far there was no sign of the Falcon, much less any plane dressed in gaudy red and pink paint. They would have to do something about that paintjob before trying to return to Italy, it was far too distinct to risk taking back to Naples.  
'I still think we'll have to hide somewhere and do something about that paint job.' he uttered, tapping at the photo lightly. 'That's dangerously obvious.'  
'I know. I asked Christian to look into any companies in Melbourne that might be able to take care of the problem for us.' Aloysius nodded, tapping at the dossier again. 'I still don't like this plan. It's too risky that you'll get hurt.'  
'I have to try, Boss. Pilot to pilot, I have to at least try and reason with him. If I fail, then you can take him down.' Rufus replied, dropping his gaze to Knight's duffle. 'Non-lethal only.'  
'I only packed beanbags for the 870. I'll aim away from all the vulnerable spots, promise.' Aloysius sighed, running one hand through his hair. 'But if he pulls a firearm, I will not hesitate to intervene. No promises that he'll survive that.'  
'Boss, you need to trust me on this. I can handle him, just give me the chance.' Rufus sighed, picking up his bag and standing. 'Wait here, I need to organise a few things to make this work.'  
'I'll keep an eye out for our plane.' Aloysius nodded, tucking the folder away and settling back.

Still adjusting to the idea of having to craft elaborate lies and back-stories to complete each job, Rufus adjusted his grip on his bag and calmly spoke to one of the staff members he could see. The story came easily, slipping off his tongue calmly as he explained his situation. Within minutes he was being escorted to a private room where he could shower and change in readiness for his next flight mission.

Indulging in a fifteen minute shower to make certain he was clean enough to pass as a high end private pilot; he made an effort to trim his beard into a neater shape and did his best to neaten up his hair before turning his attention to the specially made uniform. He knew he would probably feel like a fool once he was all kitted out but he would look like a professional and that was what really counted in this situation.

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Tensing up a little when their target plane landed and there was still no sight of Rufus, Aloysius growled softly as he watched the heiress descend the stairs to face the paparazzi that were buzzing around. Why she would land at such a small airfield was beyond him, if she wanted privacy a bigger airport with more security made a lot more sense. Not that he was complaining about her choosing to land here; the minimal security would make it a hell of a lot easier to make off with the jet once the paparazzi left.

Foot tapping impatiently, he glanced in the direction he'd seen Rufus leave and frowned as he reached down to check his bag. He wasn't normally this anxious about a mission but the fact Rufus was going in first was making him nervous as all hell. He was the former Operator; he'd done countless missions that were thousands of times more dangerous than this. Rufus was highly skilled, sure but not in ground missions. He had no training for ground operations, minimal hand to hand training and little understanding of the intricacies of running a ground operation.

Sucking in a deep breath and forcing his body to relax, Aloysius knew he had to have faith in Rufus, as much as that idea concerned him. There was no way Rufus could develop as a person if Aloysius kept holding him back from attempting new things. That didn't make him any less anxious though. He would just have to be ready if something went wrong out there.  
'I'm supposed to fly that? I should be getting hazard pay.'

Head snapping around, Aloysius' jaw dropped as he took in the transformation in front of him. There was no mistaking it was Rufus but this was a side of the taller pilot that he'd never seen before. Dressed in a pristine black pilot's uniform, he stood straight and proud, eyes hidden behind a pair of classic silver framed aviators. Primped and polished, he'd even trimmed his beard and slicked back his hair under the picture perfect pilot's cap. For the briefest of moments their gazes met, hidden behind their glasses to protect the secret from the other people in the room. Nodding faintly, Rufus picked up his bag and headed for the door calmly.

Forcing calm, Aloysius kept his attention out the window as it he was any other traveller waiting for their flight. He wanted to head out there and be in position if something went wrong but at the same time he knew he needed to give Rufus space to put his plan into action. This was a fairly simple job after all; he had to hold onto the hope that Rufus could handle it on his own.

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Glancing back towards the terminal to make sure Aloysius wasn't following, Rufus reached deep for his calm and continued walking. The pilot of their target had finally emerged and was now talking with one of the refuelling team as the tanks were topped up. Now Rufus felt even sorrier for this Leslie Warren. Not only was he about to lose his plane but he was going to be stuck on the ground in a bright pink and red uniform. No one deserved that sort of indignity.

Slowing his stride and looking around, he waited for the refuelling team to leave before turning and heading straight for the gaudy aircraft. Rufus knew his own confidence would take a bashing as soon as he took the controls; he would never be able to forget the day he flew such a hideously painted plane. Now wasn't the time to worry about dignity though, he needed to secure the plane before the heiress came back.

Reaching deep for his confidence, he stopped short of the plane and cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the unfortunate pilot. There was no going back, he had to go for it and pray that the plan worked in their favour.  
'Lieutenant Leslie Warren?' he asked, secretly amazed by how steady his voice was.  
'Yeah, that's right.' the other man confirmed, stepping closer. 'You are?'  
'Rufus McKenzie.' Rufus offered, extending his hand calmly.  
'What can I do for you, Mr McKenzie?' Leslie queried, shaking Rufus' hand firmly.  
'Before I tell you the purpose of this visit, I must warn you that you are currently in the crosshairs of my associate. If you make any threatening moves towards me, he will not hesitate to open fire.' Rufus warned, reaching into his bag as Leslie looked around for the threat. 'He is well trained, you will not spot him before he takes action.'

Pulling out the official repossession orders, Rufus held them out and waited for the reaction. He expected it would be bad, no pilot ever wanted to lose their wings and this was probably one of the most embarrassing ways to lose them. Leslie hadn't done anything wrong, he didn't own the plane and now he was going to lose it and probably his job as well.  
'It is my duty to inform you that this aircraft has been repossessed. The owner has not finalised payment despite three reminders that a significant amount was still owed. As of this moment, this Falcon 50 is the possession of Mac's Repos until such time as it is returned to the original owner.' Rufus explained, dropping his gaze for a moment.  
'This can't be right. I was told there would be no trouble.' Leslie insisted, flipping through the paperwork. 'Come on, there has to be something I can do.'  
'Sorry, my instructions are clear. If I don't bring this gaudy bird back to base, I'll be in neck deep.' Rufus shrugged, resisting his natural urge to give in to Leslie.  
'If I lose this bird, I've got nothing left. I'm just trying to support my family.' Leslie pleaded, looking up from the paperwork. 'Just let me finish this run and you can take it. Please, I need this.'  
'I wish I could. This is exactly why they sent me with a partner for this job. I've been too soft on pilots in the past and lost big contracts.' Rufus sighed, adjusting his hold on his bag.  
'You can come along with us, she'll never know the difference if you're already in the cockpit.' Leslie suggested, desperate not to lose his bird.

Setting his bag down and stepping forward, Rufus knew it was a risk but he couldn't continue to play like this didn't hurt. He had to make the connection and try to ease Leslie's agony at losing his wings again.  
'I get it, I lost my military wings too. Got the boot from the Army for something I never did. I know it's hard, I've been there. But look at yourself, you look like an idiot in that outfit. I've seen your file, you're so much better than this.' he tried, determined to keep the situation from escalating.  
'Don't pretend that you know me, I'm nothing to you or your damn company.' Leslie snapped, shoving Rufus back a step. 'I'm just some number on a page.'  
'No you're not. Pilot to pilot, you're more than some number on a page.' Rufus insisted, catching Leslie's hand when he went to throw a punch. 'I wouldn't do that if I were you. My partner will not hesitate if he thinks you are a threat.'  
'I won't let you take this bird. It's all I got to earn a living.' Leslie snarled, trying to use his greater bulk to push Rufus around.  
'Then I hope you can live without flying for a lot longer.' Rufus sighed, tightening his grip on Leslie's hands and twisting to the side a little. 'Forgive me, my brother pilot.'

The sharp retort of the shotgun seemed louder in the quiet of the almost empty tarmac, echoing between the buildings and the planes parked around them. Milliseconds later, Leslie let out a cry of pain and sagged as a bright red beanbag round dropped to the ground by their feet. Stepping forward, Rufus caught him and eased him to the ground, pocking up the expended beanbag and slipping it out of sight as he went.  
'I warned you this would happen if you turned aggressive.' he sighed, crouching beside the injured man. 'Relax, an ambulance has already been called.'  
'You bastard.' Leslie groaned, clutching at his ribs. 'You just ruined my career.'  
'This could have so easily been avoided.' Rufus shrugged, getting up and collecting his bag. 'Let's go! We've got a plane to deliver!'

Jogging across to the plane, Rufus bounded up tha stairs and dropped his bag on the nearest seat before squeezing through into the cockpit. It was a little more spacious than he'd been expecting but it was still tighter than he was fully comfortable with. Reaching into the small compartment behind the pilot's chair, he pulled out a small go bag with a faded New Zealand Air Force insignia on the side. Checking for any other personal possessions around the cockpit, he packed everything in the small bag and secured it neatly. Emerging from the plane, he returned to Leslie's side and crouched, holding out the bag as a peace offering.  
'I'll be watching out for you, Sky Monster. Got no doubt you'll fly again. Somewhere we'll meet up again, just you wait.' he grinned, glancing around for Aloysius.  
'Go to hell.' Leslie spat, snatching his bag and sagging back. 'Next time we meet, I'll knock your block off.'  
'You can certainly try.' Rufus shrugged, bouncing back to his full height. 'You might survive but I seriously doubt it.'

Tossing his cap, jacket and tie back into the cabin, he settled in the chair and buckled in quickly. Taking a few minutes to look at the controls and familiarise his mind with the location of all the key systems, he relaxed a little and ran through the start up sequence as he waited for Aloysius to catch up.  
'Don't even think about it!' Aloysius yelled, the cocking of his shotgun ringing loud outside. 'I will not hesitate to shoot you in the nuts if you try it!'  
'Get onboard! We're out of time!' Rufus snapped, twisting around in his seat.  
'Paramedics are on the way, just sit tight and behave.' Aloysius added, voice getting louder as he feet rang against the stairs. 'Alright, let's get this ugly thing out of here.'  
'Buckle up, this is gonna be fun.' Rufus warned, pushing the throttles forward and tightening his grip on the controls.  
'I always get nervous when you say that.' Aloysius hissed, diving into the nearest chair and fastening his seatbelt tightly. 'What's the fun this time?'  
'Security is onto us. They've parked a pickup on the runway. I've got to get this bitch in the air with about half the recommended distance.' Rufus warned, pushing the plane harder than she'd ever been pushed before. 'Hold on!'  
'Oh fuck!' Aloysius yelped, bracing for the worst and hoping for the best.

Engines screaming, the gaudy plane raced along the runway, charging towards the pickup blocking their path. Fully aware that this could end up in a massive fireball and kill them both, Rufus pushed the bird to her limits as he pulled back on the stick to try and lift her nose. He got a faint lift but there was no way he would clear the pickup even at this speed.  
'Shit!' he yelled, pulling back on the stick again. 'Come on you fat bitch. Fly!'  
'Would it help if I flapped?' Aloysius asked, trying to hide his worry behind humour.  
'Shut up!' Rufus barked, voice tight with strain.

Passing the point of no return, Rufus swallowed heavily and jammed the engines to full throttle, trying again to lift the front wheels off the ground. Running out of time and left with no options but crash or fly, he glared at the pickup blocking his path and tried one more time to get this bitch of a plane to fly.  
'Ah-ha! We're clear!' he crowed, relaxing as the security guard chickened out and floored his pickup in reverse off the runway.  
'Never doubted you for a minute buddy.' Aloysius replied, sagging back into his seat. 'Where to now? Clearly we need to repaint this bird.'  
'We've got full tanks and plenty of time. Check in with Christian, see if he's found us a paint booth.' Rufus advised, levelling out and chuckling softly as he settled back in the seat. 'It feels good to be back in the seat.'  
'We'll find you a new bird to keep, I promise buddy. Something real nice, sleek and fast. Something strong with plenty of hard points and a decent cannon in the front.' Aloysius grinned, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting up. 'You don't look too comfy there.'  
'It's not the worst seat I've been in.' Rufus shrugged, looking up from the panel. 'Might as well have a snoop around, see if there's anything around to help recoup our costs. Left the paperwork with Leslie, everything on the bird now belongs to Mac's Repos.'  
'You cheeky bastard.' Aloysius laughed, pushing off and heading aft to start his search.

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Leaving Australia far behind now that the Falcon was sporting a much nicer black and white paintjob, Rufus turned the nose to Italy and relaxed. The hardest part of the mission was over, now they just had to get this bird back to Naples and receive their payment. Listening to Aloysius disassembling his weapons in the back, Rufus yawned and settled in for the long flight. Part of him wished for something to break up the boredom of the flight, he was never a fan of long hauls where he was left staring at the clouds. On the other hand, this sort of peace would give them a chance to talk about a few things they'd been ignoring for the last few months.

Checking his instruments and adjusting their heading a fraction, he sighed softly as he closed his eyes for a moment. Despite everything it still felt like sometimes there was a barrier between them. He wasn't sure who was causing it, he just knew it existed and wished he could tear it down permanently. How was he supposed to put his full trust in Aloysius when he felt like he had to watch his back around the former Delta Operator sometimes.  
'We need to talk.' he called, keeping his gaze on the instruments as he waited.

Looking up from his cleaning when Rufus spoke, Aloysius sighed softly as he started putting the well loved shotgun back together quickly. This conversation had been a long time coming, he'd noticed the distance between them and had refused to speak of it the last time Rufus tried to bring it up. Now though, he had no choice but to discuss it and try to find a solution that worked for them both. He wasn't looking forward to this, he hated talking about his problems.  
'Yeah, I'll be there is a second.' He agreed, putting the last pieces back together and checking the weapon was still cycling smoothly.

Keeping his touch light on the controls as Aloysius came up behind him and crouched in the door, Rufus sighed softly as he glanced at his only friend. Even now he could feel the barrier between them in the way Aloysius kept his distance even though they were alone.  
'What happened to us? We used to be able to talk about everything. Now it feels like you're pulling away all the time.' Rufus started, turning back to his instruments. 'Is it something I said? Or was it something I did?'  
'It's not your fault buddy, it never was. I just worry about dragging you into situations that you're not trained to handle. I'm the one trained in ground operations, I shouldn't be constantly hauling you down to my level.' Aloysius sighed, creeping forward a little more. 'I don't want to see you hurt because I pulled you from the sky.'  
'Ah, so that's why you were so nervous about me taking point in New Zealand.' Rufus nodded, pointing to the empty co-pilot's chair. 'Try not to bump anything as you're climbing in.'

Shedding most of his gear to give him the best chance to getting into the cramped seat without knocking anything important, Aloysius was definitely grateful that Rufus leant him a supportive hand until he was safely settled in the chair and buckled in securely.  
'Yeah, I wasn't sure if you were ready to face the complexities of a ground op on unfamiliar territory. I know it was an airfield but you had no way to tell what the security response would be or how Leslie would react to the situation.' he nodded, tucking his feet back to avoid the pedals.  
'So instead of taking the time to teach me the basics of running a ground mission, you stayed silent and what. Prayed that nothing would go wrong?' Rufus sighed, keeping his gaze resolutely forward.  
'I had your back during the entire repossession. Had he tried anything, I would have put a bullet in his brain. The shotgun was loaded with beanbags as promised but my rifle wasn't.' Aloysius replied, reaching out to rest one hand on Rufus' shoulder. 'Look, as soon as we've got some time, I'll teach you the basics of ground ops.'  
'We've got time now.' Rufus shrugged, looking at Aloysius again. 'So talk. Analyse my technique and help me improve it.'  
'Alright then but I can pretty much guarantee you won't like this.' Aloysius agreed, shifting in his chair so he could look at Rufus without straining his neck or bumping anything important.

Organising his thoughts and bracing for what could be an explosive conversation, Aloysius sighed as he prepared to tear Rufus' first operation to pieces. This would be brutal but it needed to be done if Rufus was ever going to grow and learn.  
'Well, for starters you neglected to inform me of the full plan. When you said you had to organise some things, I expected you were scouting the area or making arrangements in case things went south. I almost missed the cue when you returned in that uniform.' Aloysius sighed, shaking his head slowly.  
'I am not that hard to miss.' Rufus insisted, deflecting away from the main issue.  
'Did you happen to notice how many pilots were bustling around the place. I counted fifteen different people in pilot uniforms, so yeah, you were easy to misplace in such a crowd. Especially since I had to remain covert and disguise my sweeps as curious boredom.' Aloysius corrected, rubbing his forehead lightly. 'Next time, we disclose all parts of the plan in full detail.'  
'Alright, I can do that.' Rufus nodded, adjusting their course again. 'What else?'  
'You need to be more aware of fields of fire. You stepped right into my field of fire when you handed over the paperwork and remained there. I had to expose myself to move to a better position to take the shot. Precious seconds that I couldn't watch your six.' Aloysius continued, not even trying to disguise the worry in his voice. 'It only takes a few seconds for a trained combatant to pull a knife and kill someone. I was unable to act for almost ten.'  
'I know. I did that on purpose. I wasn't going to risk you getting an itchy finger and shooting him if I was making progress.' Rufus nodded, unrepentant for that choice. 'You need to have a little more confidence in me, Aloysius. I might not be a grunt but I did pay attention during basic.'  
'Basic isn't going to cut it anymore, buddy.' Aloysius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 'We'll take some time once this job is over and I'll teach you some more advanced hand-to-hand.'  
'That would be a good idea.' Rufus agreed, fingers drumming on the control stick. 'Turn around and get comfortable. I don't have a lot of skills but I can teach you the basics of flight. Just in case something happens.'  
'Uh, I don't know about this.' Aloysius blanched, looking at the confusing array in front of him.  
'Relax, I'm not going to give you full control.' Rufus grinned, glancing across again. 'Go on, we might as well do something interesting while we're here.'

Swallowing quickly and hoping Rufus put it down to nerves, Aloysius reached out and lightly curled his hands around the control column in front of him. He almost let out a yelp of fright as the plane banked unexpectedly to the right, sending his stomach into a tailspin as he looked to Rufus for help. Pushing down his fear, he noticed his controls weren't in the same position as Rufus' and timidly eased his column back to match what Rufus was doing.  
'Well look at that. You do know how to keep a bird flying.' Rufus chuckled, adjusting their course again. 'Taking off and landing is a whole different matter.'  
'Not helping buddy.' Aloysius grunted, tense and uncomfortable as he kept checking on what Rufus was doing. 'This is how does this help anyone?'  
'Well if I'm incapacitated, it would be handy if you could get us out of trouble even if that meant taking to the air.' Rufus shrugged, watching Aloysius closely for a few moments. 'We'll eventually have to diversify our skills.'  
'Alright, deal. I'll teach you how to fight on the ground and you teach me the basics of flight.' Aloysius agreed, adjusting his controls to match Rufus' again.  
'Done deal.' Rufus nodded, drawing the controls back slowly. 'Don't tell me you're scared of flying.'  
'Of course not, I've been flying since I was three or four. It's the fact I'm in control that's making me nervous.' Aloysius replied, looking at the control panel again.

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Delivering the plane safely and accepting their payment, the pair weren't quite sure where they wanted to go next. Their few contacts with the underworld had provided them with three lucrative contracts, each one interesting and challenging for different reasons. Discussing it quickly, they made the choice to take the Russian job. Sure Germany was nice at this time of year and neither of them had ever been to Australia but the challenge of trying to retrieve three scientists from a facility in Moscow was far too intriguing to pass up.


	7. Bad Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have taken a really bad turn for our rookie bounty hunters. They thought they were finally getting a handle on their new lawless state of life but one wrong turn and they're in the deepest shit they've ever endured.
> 
> Warning: These next few chapters are going to get very dark so please pay close attention to the tags and feel free to skip ahead if you don't want to read the really ugly parts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a little bit of an Overwatch cameo in this and the next couple of chapters. It's probably not great, I'm still learning the characters but I needed another American to drag into this and luck of the draw pulled him in. This is my first attempt writing anything Overwatch so please be nice. If you have any tips or guidance, I'd love to hear them.

Whipping around to fire back at their pursuers, Aloysius swore and dropped, narrowly avoiding the hell coming at him. Scrambling up and taking off down a side street, he cursed their luck as he looked around for a place to hunker down and wait for the shitstorm to die down again. Sprinting around another corner, he barely had time to search for another escape route before strong arms grabbed him and hauled him back against a firm chest.  
'Easy now, it's just me Boss.' Rufus whispered, holding on tight as footsteps and angry voices echoed nearby. 'Shh, got a way out but you gotta trust me and stay quiet.'  
'Lead on.' Aloysius breathed, looking up with a grin. 'Thanks.'  
'This way.' Rufus nodded, letting go and making a break for safety.

Pistols in hand, Aloysius paused for a second before following, constantly scanning for danger as they bolted along another narrow backstreet. Hearing a bark of angry Russian over the heavy thudding of feet and the thundering of blood in his ears, Aloysius didn't hesitate, loosing a blind shot towards the voice as he surged to keep up with Rufus' longer stride.  
'Come on, faster!' Rufus snapped, turning left and slamming up against the wall.  
'We need a new plan.' Aloysius panted, swinging around and thudding up beside Rufus.  
'No shit.' Rufus groaned, leaning around the corner and squeezing the trigger on his old M16. 'I'm open to ideas.'  
'Nearest bus stop.' Aloysius suggested, hoping to lose their attackers in a crowd.  
'That'll do.' Rufus agreed, ducking back and taking off running again.

Slinging his 16 and concentrating on running for his life, Rufus dug deep and pushed on, his stride automatically shortening so he didn't lose Aloysius despite the danger. He knew he could easily outrun the shorter man but his loyalty to Aloysius was strong, he would not flee like some coward while Aloysius protected their backs. Rounding another corner, he glanced back to check on Aloysius' position. He never even knew what hit him, stumbling back and dropping, out cold before he hit the filthy pavement.

Rounding the same corner, Aloysius barely had a chance to process the scene in front of him. He only had time to realise that Rufus was on the ground before someone emerged from the shadows and something whistled through the air. One arm flying up to catch the whistling object, Aloysius grunted as something wide and flat smacked into his face and knocked him down, senses reeling from the hard hit as he struggled to remain conscious.  
'These two will do very nicely.' a heavily accented voice somewhere nearby as Aloysius lost his battle and lapsed into darkness.

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Groaning in pain as he awoke, Rufus tried to reach for his head only to discover his hands were bound quite tightly behind him. Wriggling his fingers to check his circulation, he shivered with the cold and tried not to panic as he realised just how much trouble he was in now. He was in some kind of dimly lit room; the only light filtering in through heavily frosted windows probably thirty feet above him. One of the panes had been broken at some stage, the hasty repair revealing a sliver of roiling clouds above.

Shivering again, he squirmed uncomfortably only to realise with shocking clarity exactly why he felt so damned cold. Someone had not only managed to capture and imprison him, but they'd gone to some pretty unusual lengths in an attempt to make sure he stayed in their custody. Little wonder he was so damned cold, these bastards had stripped him to his t-shirt and boxers before leaving him to wake up alone. He took it as a small mercy that they'd left his socks as well, his feet were always super sensitive to the cold. Shifting again, he jolted in shock as his bared cheek brushed against the rough floor. Those bastards would pay.

He could feel something tight against his throat, wide and hard as it pressed against his Adam's apple with every movement. It didn't gouge like steel could and was much smoother than the rope at his wrists. Shaking his head sharply, refusing to think further on the idea of having some sort of collar around his throat, he closed his eyes and focused on what else he could learn. The air hung heavy with the scent of unwashed bodies, shit and piss. Occasional movement somewhere nearby, hushed voices to his right and something rattling above. It was too dark to make out much, shadows wavering as the clouds moved outside this place and adjusted the light filtering in.

Straining against the coarse rope biting into his skin, he rolled and sat up, looking around slowly to get a feel for this place. Finding it a little strange that his ankles weren't bound, he rocked up into a low crouch and swept the prison again. It was still too dark to see much and the voices had gone silent. Hearing heavy boots somewhere just off to his left, he turned his head and looked up, jaw going slack as he found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. A rifle held by an angry looking Russian guy in some sort of uniform.  
'Eyes front, American. Move and you die.' he growled, twitching his rifle in warning.

Rufus could admit that his Russian was rudimentary at best but he could fully understand the threat so he turned away from the guard and rested his chin on his knees. His shoulders ached terribly from the strain of the binding and his wrists were definitely chafed by now.  
'Welcome to my facility, American. Behave and you will live to see open skies again. Misbehave and you will die. I will remove the rope from your wrists now; it was merely for your protection until you awoke. The collar stays though, it has been locked in place to ensure your compliance.' a different voice explained, smaller hands brushing against his exposed wrists as the speaker worked.  
'What do you want? There will be no ransom for my freedom.' Rufus questioned, scanning the area for any trace of Aloysius.  
'That is not important. We have little interest in ransoms or demands.' the mystery speaker snorted, slipping the rope free. 'You are free to explore the chamber, perhaps then you will learn the truth. You may even find your friend huddled in a dark corner somewhere.'

Crushing down on his temptation to lash out and demand to know what was going on and where to find Aloysius, Rufus grit his teeth and stayed still as the footsteps faded away and once again he heard the rattling somewhere off to his right and above his head. The waiting was killing him; he needed to find Aloysius so they could start making a plan to get out of this frigid hellhole and back to work. They would just have to be careful that no innocents were harmed during their planning and eventual breakout.

Heaving to his feet, one hand up to clutch his aching head as he swayed drunkenly, Rufus growled softly at the feel of fresh blood under his fingertips. Clean hand clinging to a wall he'd found, he tried to remember how he'd gotten to this point. He vaguely recalled the assault in the alleyway, something flat and hard cracking across his face as he turned. Exactly what had been used eluded him, he could tell it had been quite wide judging by the damage but aside from that, it was a waste of time thinking about.

Stiff, sore and more than ready to get out of this place, he kept one hand on the wall for support as he continued walking. Something else had happened while he'd been out, his ribs were burning for some reason but he didn't dare stop and check for bruises. He was only just starting to warm up a little. He needed to keep moving, had to find Aloysius and see if there was a warmer place to huddle up and plan their next step. First step in that was figuring out exactly where they were and what sort of a prison this place was.

Reaching the end of the wall and easing around the corner, Rufus' jaw dropped as he looked around again. The wall he had been following was a massive concrete block carefully placed to create some kind of smaller enclosure within a much larger structure. Sweeping his gaze off the concrete block and up the wall behind it, he swore as he realised the ceiling was a hell of a lot higher than thirty feet. The straight walls of this open prison were thirty, possibly forty feet but above that there was at least another sixty to eighty feet of open space at a guess.

It was so much brighter out here, electric lights strung across the ceiling and blasting the deep pit with light, eliminating every shadow where he could hide. Gritting his teeth, he growled angrily at the threat to Aloysius. Curious now, he turned around and looked up at the area he'd come from, frown growing as he took in the metal construction over this end that shaded several of these concrete blocks and kept this end in near darkness. 

Turning back to the brightly lit end, he took stock of the people he could see down here with him. Best guess, there was probably fifty or sixty people down here, all youngish men in similar states of dress. Looking again, he frowned as he realised that they were all of different ethnic bath grounds, leading him to assume that most of them were probably tourists who ran into trouble and wound up here. Some may have been locals, tossed in here for all manner of reasons. Now that really didn't bear thinking about; there had to be some logical reason why they were all trapped in this pit.

Eyes slipping closed again, he listened and concentrated on the voices he could hear, cataloguing accents and languages as best he could. He had a gift for numbers and science, not languages but even so, he'd been working on picking up the basics in as many languages as he could whenever they had some downtime. Some were easy to recognise; German, Mandarin, British and Turkish. Others were much harder, forcing him to think and on a few occasions simply give up trying to figure out where they were from. He was reasonably sure he heard a couple of Arabic voices somewhere off to his right and that worried him a little. Such a wide range of different nationalities surely meant trouble to everyone in the pit.

Straightening slowly, he once again looked around at the pit, trying to make some sense of this place. If they were ever going to escape, they needed as much information about this place as they could possibly get. The concrete was old and worn, deep gouges marring the surface in a few places. The floor sloped slightly towards the middle, broken only by a series of old metal channels imbedded in the floor. These channels ran all the way along the pit, perfectly straight and fairly deep. In places, they'd been covered with steel plates, forming bridges over the channels as if the guards were concerned someone might get hurt falling into one of the channel. Laughable really, the channels were at best only 18 inches wide.

Hoping that he looked curious and casual to the guards above, Rufus tried to kick his brain into gear and work out the dimensions of the space just with comparisons and guess work. Usually he was pretty good at mathematics puzzles but his head was still ringing something fierce. Fighting through the pain, he worked out some rough figures and swore at the answers he got as his eyes landed on the heavy steel door at the far end.  
'Oh shit.' he breathed, eyes blowing wide as he realised that the steel door was actually a sea gate. In that case, this pit was more than just some random hole in the ground somewhere. They were all prisoners in a submarine maintenance facility.

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Humiliated by what he'd been forced to do just to keep his glasses and as such, the majority of his dignity, Aloysius stood quietly in the steel bucket he'd been guided towards. Head down, he shifted as the bucket lifted up and moved, swaying in the breeze as the gantry above rattled and clanked into position. Clasping his hands tighter behind his back, he glanced up at the guards beside him, examining their weapons and working out his chances of overpowering these two and making a break for freedom. He put the brakes on that plan when he saw the concrete walls appear above the edge of the bucket as it continued down.

Glancing to the left, he looked at the scared young man beside him, wishing that he could at least offer a comforting word but the throbbing ache in the back of his head reminded him to keep his mouth shut. Another blow like that could knock him out of the bucket and he seriously doubted he'd survive the fall. He settled for shifting closer, allowing their arms to touch for the briefest of moments. It wasn't much but it was all he could do. The light contact appeared to help; the kid lifted his head a touch and looked up at Aloysius for the briefest moment. There was something about this kid, something that gave Aloysius a funny feeling that he knew a hell of a lot about this place and the disturbed fucks running it.

He looked so young, tongue prodding at the still oozing split in his lower lip as he shifted uncomfortably. Best guess, Aloysius figured he had to be around eighteen, just starting to find his feet in the world. Surprisingly, the kid had long auburn hair, bound back in a loose braid and tied with a red ribbon between his shoulders. No one else in the pit had long hair, making Aloysius wonder if this brown-eyed kid was something more than just another hostage. Rocking back a little, he caught a glimpse of moist looking scratches on his back; some up around his shoulders and more peeking over the band of his star spangled boxers. The thought of what those scratches might mean sent a shudder down Aloysius' spine. Poor kid looked positively terrified, shaking uncontrollably as he stood there.

Wobbling a little when the basket stopped, Aloysius tried to relax as the security gate was pushed open and one of the guards gave him a solid shove in the back. Making the snap decision not to reveal his true skill level, Aloysius bought one hand up to protect his glasses as he hit the concrete hard a few feet away from the bucket. Groaning heavily as he propped himself up on one elbow, he watched as the young kid got the same treatment, dropping three feet and sprawling out on the concrete beside him. Aloysius could only watch on, helpless for the first time in years, as the gate closed and the basket was whisked away out of his reach.  
'You okay kid?' he asked, sitting up slowly.  
'Yeah, 'm good.' the youngster nodded, climbing slowly to his knees. 'You?'  
'I'll live.' Aloysius groaned, looking at the gouges down his arms. 'Well that was an experience.'  
'Get used to it.'  
'Aloysius!' Rufus called, coming towards them at a jog. 'Where the hell have you been? I've been wandering around for an hour or more trying to find you.'  
'You really want to know?' Aloysius asked, adjusting his glasses as he shifted uncomfortably.  
'Not really. I'm just thankful you're here now.' Rufus shrugged, fairly able to guess what had happened by how red Aloysius' lips were and how rattled he sounded. 'We're in real trouble this time, Boss.'  
'I had kind of figured that out, Rufus.' Aloysius sighed, looking at the younger man again. 'What's your name kid? I'm Aloysius and that's Rufus.'  
'Name's Jesse.' he replied, flinching as he got up on his knees. 'Be careful which guards you piss off. Some don't stop at demanding blowjobs.'  
'Any specific ones we should be worried about?' Rufus asked, putting a reassuring hand on Aloysius' back. 'Easy now, we've got bigger problems than the guards.'  
'Don't know their names, ain't seen a nametag on their uniforms. There's a short, fat guy who won't stand for anyone lookin' at him funny. Watch out for a tall, chubby, bald guy too. He's one of the worst, got no shame and seems to get off on making his personal targets scream in agony.' Jesse shrugged, looking up towards the guards above. 'Oh and be careful of the head honcho around here. I've heard some of the guards call him Boris when he's not around. The others will at least take their victims someplace else before the abuse starts but not him. Piss him off and he'll make an example of you in front of everyone.'

Listening with growing trepidation, Rufus swallowed quickly and looked up at the guards again. Of all the horrors he'd expected to hear about, this sort of systematic abuse wasn't even close to being on his list.  
'What else do we know?' Aloysius asked, slapping Rufus' knee sharply. 'You've had a chance to look around down here I take it.'  
'The news ain't good. We're in the bottom of a submarine maintenance dock. The only access appears to be the gantry bucket you had the pleasure of getting thrown out of with Jesse. Rough count, we're sharing the space with sixty people from fifteen different nations. Most of the dock is covered with these bright electric lights but I have located a safe refuge in one corner for you to rest your eyes.' Rufus briefed, pointing to the nearest channel on the floor and then to the heavy sea door at the far end.  
'if ya talkin' about the shaded rooms where most people first wake up, I wouldn't go near 'em now that ya up and about. Now ya gotta stay out here with everyone else or risk gettin' seriously hurt.' Jesse warned, managing to get one foot under him.  
'Well so much for that idea.' Rufus sighed, getting up and offering Aloysius a hand. 'What else can you tell us about this place, Jesse?'  
'Wait a minute. Are you sure about the sub dock thing?' Aloysius asked, groaning as he stood. 'Are you absolutely certain?'  
'Are we likely to get in any trouble if we walk down that end?' Rufus queried, gaze falling on Jesse again as he helped the youngster stand.  
'Never noticed anythin' before. Guess the only way to find out is to head down there. Given the guards I can see, we're more likely to get a warnin' b'fore anyone gets hurt.' Jesse shrugged, lifting his gaze to the pit edge. 'Where ya from?'  
'Louisiana I guess, been rovin' for too long to really know where home is anymore.' Rufus grinned, curious about Jesse's subject choice. 'You?'  
'New Mexico. Thought I'd be safe to take a year to figure out what I wanted from life. Ended up here and I lost track of how long it's been since I was free.' Jesse sighed, dropping his gaze quickly.  
'You seem kind of young to be out on your own.' Aloysius remarked, scanning their surroundings carefully without appearing to. 'C'mon kid, sounds like we're the only three Americans in this mess. Least we can do is stick together.'  
'I'm sixteen, possibly seventeen. My birthday was comin' when I first left America but without knowin' how long I been locked up, can't tell if it's gone past.' Jesse admitted, running one hand through his hair.  
'It's January 16th, or at least it was when we were grabbed. Fucked if I know how long ago that was.' Aloysius sighed, shaking his head slowly.  
'So by now it's probably the 17th.' Jesse nodded, kicking at the ground lightly. 'Shit, I missed Christmas. Gabe must be worried sick.'  
'Not your birthday though?' Rufus grinned, trying to lift Jesse's mood.  
'Nah, that's in May.' Jesse chuckled, relaxing a little more as he nudged Rufus with one elbow.  
'Okay, so we've got some time.' Rufus nodded, watching Aloysius closely for any hints of a plan.  
'Wait, January…damn, I've been in this forsaken place six months?' Jesse blinked, head coming up again quickly. 'How did I lose track of six months?'  
'Comes from being stuck in a place where nothing really changes day to day.' Aloysius sighed, turning and resting one hand on Jesse's shoulder. 'Even the best trained people in the world succumb to the same problem after long enough in confinement.'  
'Well then, here's what we're gonna do.' Rufus chuckled, ruffling Jesse's hair quickly. 'Ya help us out with what ya know about this place and we'll give it our damned best try to get you home b'fore ya turn 17.'  
'Ya really mean that?' Jesse asked, eyes lighting up with hope.  
'Hell or high water, we'll get you home.' Aloysius nodded, refusing to think about all the challenges ahead. 'But you've got to help us. You know more about this place than we do.'  
'I can do that.' Jesse agreed, looking up again. 'Shit, time to move. That's Boris. He likes to see his new acquisitions on the move.'

Looking up, the Bounty Hunters frowned at the sight of the tall, heavily built man Jesse was calling Boris. He would definitely be a problem unless they could find a way to put him out of commission while they attempted some sort of escape plan. Exactly how they were going to do that, well that was a problem for another time.  
'You sure you're okay Jesse?' Aloysius asked, watching the way the younger man was limping.  
'Nothin' ya can do about it. Mouthed off to the wrong guard and got in over my head.' Jesse shrugged, dropping his gaze as he hugged his abdomen. 'I'll be okay in a day or two.'  
'What aren't ya telling us, Jesse? C'mon now, we need to know everythin' if we're gonna get outta this nightmare.' Rufus coaxed, turning to the younger man and sinking to one knee. 'Can't getcha back to Gabe if we ain't prepared for what's here.'  
'I…I can't…' Jesse choked, true fear showing in his eyes. 'That's not meant to happen to men.'  
'Oh god, I think I know what he's talking about.' Aloysius swallowed, putting the pieces together in his head. 'Shit, this is really bad. If these dirty rat bastards will demand a prisoner blow them to keep their shorts, there's no reason not to think they wouldn't do so much worse.'  
'Say it ain't so, Jesse.' Rufus uttered, refusing to believe what he was hearing. 'c'mon, give me somethin' to hold onto. Some sign that we're not dealin' with total animals who would force themselves on a minor.'  
'Can't do that.' Jesse choked, tears falling slowly as he trembled and bit his lip. 'Been happenin' since I woke up.'  
'Shh, we'll take care of ya now. Ya don't gotta be strong now, I'll protect ya.' Rufus coaxed, opening one arm in silent invitation.  
'Ya promise?' Jesse uttered, crashing to his knees in front of Rufus.  
'With all I am, lil brother.' Rufus nodded, a dangerous fire burning in his eyes. 'Ain't gonna let these monsters hurt ya again.'

Lunging forward, Jesse crashed into Rufus and held on tight, sobbing quietly into his chest as he trembled. Enfolding Jesse in his arms and holding on tight, Rufus rocked slowly as he tried to comfort the terrified teen. Taking a knee beside them, Aloysius placed a supportive arm around Jesse and glared up at the guards around them, daring any of those despicable monsters to even try and put a hand on Jesse.  
'I wanna go home.' Jesse sobbed, pressing closer to their strength.  
'We'll get you home Jesse, I promise.' Rufus soothed, lifting his gaze slowly. 'But you need to behave and stop giving the guards any reason to hurt you, okay.'  
'Okay. Might need some help though.' Jesse agreed, fully aware that he struggled to contain his anger and smart mouth.  
'Count on it, Jesse. Whenever you start getting close to doing something risky, just think of getting home and how relieved Gabe will be to see you.' Aloysius instructed, looking around quickly. 'Uh, time to move. They're getting a little twitchy.'  
'And just when it was starting to hurt less.' Jesse sighed, drawing back slowly. 'We should check out that door you mentioned.'  
'Yeah, sounds like a good idea.' Aloysius agreed, pushing back to his feet and hooking his arms under Jesse's. 'Up you come.'

~@~#~@~#~@~#~@~

Picking out a corner that would be considered theirs until they got out of this mess, Rufus settled as comfortably as he could on the unforgiving concrete, putting his back to the open pit and curling his body to create a safe little nest between his bulk and the sea gate. It wasn't much of a shelter but with no blankets or even a coat, it was all they could offer the troubled teen. Resting his head on one forearm, he reached up to Jesse in welcome. They could survive this but they had to work together and pool their extremely limited resources if that was ever going to happen.

Aloysius got the idea, settling down beside Rufus and shifting so he could keep watch across the pit, back to back with the taller man. Curling up to preserve body heat and protect his vital areas, he curled two fingers around the arm of his glasses to keep them secure as he relaxed. Hardly the most uncomfortable night he'd ever endured, he knew they would have to work fast if they were going to get out of here before Jesse suffered too much harm sleeping on hard floors while bones and muscles were still developing.

Biting at his lip again, Jesse stepped over Rufus' feet and sunk down, huddling into the provided warmth and shelter as best he could manage. Flinching away from the accidental contact against his thigh, he rolled over awkwardly and settled, surprise in his gaze at how comfortable it was to rest his aching head on Rufus' forearm. Curling up a little more, knees tucked to abdomen for protection and one hand resting lightly on Rufus' worn skin, he finally settled and tried to ignore the flush heating his cheeks.  
'Nothin' to be all red 'bout. Just makin' sure ya safe.' Rufus uttered, loosely draping his other arm over Jesse's side. Tomorrow we'll figure out what to do next.'  
'Thanks for this.' Jesse uttered, letting his eyes slide closed.  
'Anytime, Jesse. All ya gotta do is ask.' Rufus promised, fingers tracing a soothing pattern between Jesse's shoulders. 'Shh, no more words. Sweet dreams little man, sleep now.'


End file.
